World-first opera band
NZEdged tenor Geoff Sewell (2nd from L, above) and his London-based opera band Amici Forever have signed a record-breaking six million pound recording deal. Their first album is to be released in the UK mid-Sept and features opera and rock classics such as an Italian version of Unchained Melody and Nessum Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot. Heralded as the “world’s first opera band”, Amici Forever is two female and three male voices hand picked from across the globe for their “exceptional voices and artistic virtuosity”. They have already caused a sensation with their performances at the Champions League Final as well as on a recent tour with iconic songstress Shirley Bassey. Geoff Sewell sang in a Hawkes Bay choir as a boy, and was an accountant in Wellington before moving to London for a banking career that has segued into musical stardom.