'The secret is passion': The life of legendary mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli

Cecilia Bartoli is one of the most multi-faceted artists in the world, a five-time Grammy Award winner and a visionary artistic director. 

In this latest episode of Musica, the legendary Italian mezzo-soprano gives us an exclusive insight into her life as one of the greatest artists of our time.

Musica joined Ceilia in the Italian city of Florence: the birthplace of opera and a cultural centre since the Renaissance. And it was at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival that the legendary Italian mezzo-soprano performed the Baroque masterpiece 'Alcina' by one of her favourite composers Georg Frideric Handel.

"Florence is magical, a wonderful city," Bartoli said. "The very first opera was made and sung right here, in Florence.” 

Named after the patron 'Saint of Music', Cecilia grew up surrounded by music. Both of her parents were opera singers. But it was Cecilia's mother, Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli, who passed on her passion for music to her daughter.

“The beginning was natural really, because my mum sang when I was in her belly. In fact, perhaps it was almost more natural to hear singing than talking in the house,” Cecilia Bartoli revealed.

They share a strong bond, not least because her mother was her only teacher. It was through her mother's coaching that Cecilia found her unique voice.

“I realised when she was a child that she was very musical," Silvana Bazzoni Bartoli, Cecilia's mother, told Musica. 

"For me, it was easy to sing the high notes and I taught her to do that. She had a predisposition for agility. When I was playing the piano, she was running away with her voice and I couldn’t keep up with her,” she added.

"She was also clever," Cecilia said about her mother. "She gave me this solid technique that allows me and has