Young Girl With Heavenly Vocals Steals Spotlight In Duet Performance With Italian Legend

Jun 02, 2021 by apost team

Amira Willighagen taught herself how to sing opera when she was 9 years old by watching videos on YouTube. The self-taught soprano eventually got the chance to audition on “Holland's Got Talent” in 2013 and absolutely stunned the audience with her duet performance of "O Mio Babbino Caro” from Puccini's one-act opera, “Gianni Schicchi.” But there’s one performance that might even top that show-stopping performance, and that’s Willighagen's duet “O Sole Mio” with the famous Neapolitan-Austrian singer Patrizio Buanne. The two performed the beautiful song in Pretoria, South Africa, at the Classics Is Groot concert in July 2016.

At the beginning of the duet, Willighagen is seen standing next to Buanne. She looks gorgeous in a sapphire dress. Buanne says to her, "Today I'm going to sing with you a beautiful Neapolitan song, where I come from." Buanne, who's in a handsome tuxedo, looks like a Disney prince.

He then gestures to the orchestra conductor saying, "Maestro!", and without missing a beat, the musicians start playing the opening of “O Sole Mio.”

As the intro of the song is being played out, Buanne and Willighagen take a second to compose themselves, preparing to deliver the song like they never have before. Buanne also takes this time to kiss Willighagen's hand, a gentleman’s gesture.

Buanne is first up. His effortless and soulful sound gets a smile — one that doesn't waver throughout the entire video, by the way — from Willighagen.

She stands next to him, still smiling, and gently swaying along as he sings, "Che bella cosa na jurnata ’e sole, n’aria serena doppo na tempesta! Pe’ ll’aria fresca pare già na festa ... Che bella cosa na jurnata ’e sole."

In English, this means, "What a beautiful thing a sunny day is! The air is serene after a storm, the air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration. What a beautiful thing a sunny day is!"

Watching the video, you'll understand why they had Willighagen sing second. She completely stuns the crowd with her unusually mature and operatic voice, hitting the very first note of the chorus, which, by the way, is a whole octave higher than Buanne's singing.

As she's Dutch, it's also important to add that Willighagen doesn't speak Italian, so this makes the then 12-year-old’s performance even more impressive.

Buanne then takes over the second half of the chorus, flaunting his unbelievably rich tone as he sings "sole," for five seconds into a crescendo. The duo have an obvious age gap between them, but it doesn't stop the two talented opera singers from delivering a classic to a live audience that can be described as nothing but absolutely ethereal.

How did Willighagen become such a wonderful and well-respected singer? And where is she today? After her success on “Holland’s Got Talent,” the singing star appeared on a whole host of other TV shows, including “Life4You – Carlo & Irene” in the Netherlands and “Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel” in Germany. Shortly thereafter, Willighagen recorded her debut album, “Amira,” which features tracks she performed while on “Holland’s Got Talent.”

“Self-taught by singing along with YouTube videos, she has since received professional training, and it shows in her improved breath control and the steadiness of her tone, which makes her voice pleasant to hear and her high notes surprisingly pure and compelling,” Blair Sanderson writes in his AllMusic review of the record. 

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“This is a promising start for Willighagen's career, and with the proper guidance and care of her voice, this should be the first of many appealing albums,” he adds.

Sanderson was right: the singer’s self-titled debut marked the beginning of a successful career that would only gain momentum as time went on. Today, at 17 years old, Willighagen has two more studio albums to her name, 2015’s “Merry Christmas” and 2018’s  ”With All My Heart.” In addition, the up-and-coming singer released a DVD set and live album in 2020, further solidifying her place as one of the most exciting young singers from the Netherlands.

Willighagen has also used her fame and success to help others, as she explains on her website. When the singer was just 10 years old, she founded the Gelukskinders Foundation, which was established to help build playgrounds for children in Ikageng, South Africa. As of 2017, the project has built and maintained seven playgrounds.

“Amira, your exceptional voice has conquered the hearts of many people all over the world. For the second time you share the inner voice of solidarity,” commented Jean-Claude Cuennet in French on a video that features the Gelukskinders Foundation’s efforts in Ikageng. “Hundreds of children in South Africa thank you with their cries of joy. What you are doing is admirable. BRAVO!”

Willighagen continues to update her fans on the Gelukskinders project via the organization’s official website. In one of the most recent posts on the site, the charity association announced that they were once again starting work after a year of “downtime.”

What do you think of their performance? Did it surprise you? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your friends and family members!