Angelica

Two disparate worlds. Two separate evolutionary arcs. Two sounds that, historically, have found little common ground. That is, until the brilliantly conceived “ANGELICA.”

The ground-breaking Atlantic album is the innovation of Grammy Award-winning pop and rock songwriter/composer/ producer Clif Magness and is executive produced by legendary pop lyricist and Oscar and Grammy Award-winner Carole Bayer Sager.

However, “ANGELICA” is equally noteworthy as the worldwide introduction to the stunning voices of five smart American sopranos: Julia Bonilla, Anita DeSimone, Sewell Griffith, Lori Stinson, and Rebecca Semrau. The young women were selected for the project from a field of nearly 50.

The quintet is expertly complemented by the talents of such renowned guitarists as Steve Vai, Steve Stevens, Eric Johnson, Nathan East, and Dweezil Zappa. Composer/producer/and 12-time Grammy Award winner David Foster steps into the spotlight for a remarkably touching piano solo on “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” as the celebrated Boys Choir of Harlem join in with their collective voice.

More than simply a rock “n” roll work shaped into operatic form, “ANGELICA” is innovative in its marriage of opera”s style and stories with rock”s sound, attitude, look, and contemporary impact.

At the heart of the album are Magness’ newly arranged pieces from such operas as Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi, and La Boheme; Verdi’s Rigoletto; Mozart’s The Magic Flute; and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, along with other selections from Bach, Franck, Gounod, and Shubert. A special club remix of one track is also planned as yet another genre-crossing element.

The Los Angeles-based Clif Magness has written and produced for more than a dozen top artists. Recent credits include songwriting work with pop prodigies Hanson and the new album from The Wilsons. “Impulsive,” the track he wrote for Wilson Phillips” multi -platinum smash debut album, was a top 5 hit on the Billboard “Hot100” while his “All I Need” was a #1 smash for Jack Wagner.

In 1990, Magness shared “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s)” Grammy Award honors with Quincy Jones, Glen Ballard, and Jerry Hey for their arrangement of Jones” “The Places You Find Love” single. For his self-penned “The Day I Fall In Love,” from the soundtrack to the 1994 motion picture Beethoven’s 2nd, he received nominations for an Academy Award (“Best Original Song”), a Grammy Award (“Best Song Written Specifically For A Motion Picture”), and a Golden Globe Award (“Best Original Song”).

In addition to scoring work on a number of films, other artists he has written and/or produced for include Amy Grant, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Sheena Easton, and Steve Perry.

Introduced to the world in 1966 with her lyric to “Groovy Kind Of Love” ” a million-selling hit for Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders (and later for Phil Collins) ” Carole Bayer Sager would go on to become one of the most prolific and poignant writers in pop history.

Within a career filled with accomplishments, notable landmarks include: 1975″s “Midnight Blue,” which she co-wrote with the song’s performer, Melissa Manchester (the artist’s first hit); 1977’s “Nobody Does It Better,” a hit for Carly Simon co-written with frequent collaborator Marvin Hamlisch; and the highly praised Hamlisch/Sager compositions written for Neil Simon’s 1979 play, They’re Playing Our Song. In addition, the native New Yorker’s self-titled 1977 debut solo album earned the artist a UK hit with “You’re Moving Out Today,” a song co-written with Bette Midler and Bruce Roberts.

She joined with Christopher Cross, Burt Bacharach, and Peter Allen to write “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” Cross’ song from the 1981 Dudley Moore hit film, Arthur. After spending three weeks at #1 on the Billboard “Hot 100,” “Arthur’s Theme” earned the songwriters the Academy Award in 1982 for “Best Song From A Film.”

In 1986, “That’s What Friends Are For” “the #1 hit she co-wrote with Bacharach (to raise awareness and funds in the fight against AIDS) ” received the Grammy Award for “Song Of The Year,” as performed by Dionne (Warwick) & Friends Featuring Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder. That same year, the pair also topped the Billboard “Hot 100” with “On My Own,” performed by Patti LaBelle and Doobie Brother Michael McDonald.