Bellini to Bollywood

Natalie Di Luccio wants to bridge the gap between the east and the west through music

Nigel Britto

'Tu jaane na' and 'Kahin to hogi woh' do not usually figure in the repertoires of Western classical singers. The transition from the technical and highly competitive world of European opera to the desi, janta-oriented sound of Bollywood is one few, if any, have successfully traversed. Natalie Di Luccio, 21, whose Bollywood exploits can be found on the internet, is the first trained soprano to make the switch to India's hugely popular and in-need-of-genuinetalent music industry. 

If the million-plus hits on YouTube don't speak for themselves, her Sarah Brightman-like vibrato surely does. Di Luccio, multicultural by birth by virtue of an Italian father and Canadian mother, can sing in European languages like Italian, French, German, Latin and Spanish as well as Asian ones like Hindi, Sanskrit and Japanese. She wants to be "the female Josh Groban", the American classical-crossover singer of You raise me up fame. Quite like her idol, Di Luccio has starred in a number of musicals like Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, Les Miserables, Bye Bye Birdie and Kiss Me Kate. Her dream role, she says, is that of Christine Daae, the female lead of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Phantom of the Opera. 

"I want to make an impact," the 21-year-old told TOI-Crest after a recital of 'Tu jaane na' in Goa. It was the first time she performed a Hindi song live, wowing the mostly-musician audience, pleasantly surprised to see the unusual combination of European appearance and Hindi fluency. Complimented on her diction, she simply says, "Shukriya, mein Hindi bol sakti hoon, Mumbai mein seekhti hoon. " 

Di Luccio, who studied music at the Cardinal Carter Academy of the Arts and at McGill University in Canada, feels that the time is right for the gap between Bollywood and opera to be bridged, and wants to help build that vocal bridge. Her first tryst with Bollywood was when she saw Om Shanti Om in Canada. Later, an Indian musician saw her sing on the social networking site MySpace and invited her to India in January 2009. "At that time, I didn't know I would be so enamoured of India, "she says. "I just thought I'd go for a few weeks for a fun musical vacation. " But there was no looking back. Once here she was astounded by Indian culture and the chaotic but energetic music industry. "I fell in love with India as well as Bollywood. It just captures you and doesn't let you out!" 

Bollywood was not always her goal;then again, neither was opera. "I studied classical music my entire life. Although I do love opera, my passion has always been more toward mainstream pop music. " A genre called Classical Crossover, made famous by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli, is where she wants to excel. "Classical Crossover music is performed with a more mainstream approach for the masses to enjoy and not a specific crowd, which tends to happen with opera, " she explains. Di Luccio has an impressive classical repertoire too, her rendition of Nella Fantasia being especially popular. 

While not completely confident of her Hindi yet (" Give me a year, I'm working really hard at it" ), she recently performed her first all-Hindi gig at a corporate event in Shimla. The business men and women cheered loudly. "People were really surprised to hear me sing in Hindi, the response was really great, especially to Sheila ki jawani, " she giggles. 

Her expressive voice, which has been coached by various instructors including the famous Prof William Riley (of Celine Dion, Whitney Houston fame), has been praised by singer Sonu Nigam, with whom she did a Michael Jackson tribute in August 2009. She also sung her first playback song in Band Baaja Baarat where she was featured in the song Aadha Ishq alongside Shreya Ghoshal. She has sung to background scores for the films Naam and Jail as well as several jingles. 

Things are looking up in 2011. And with several acting offers and an album on the cards, it's little wonder that she has no immediate plans of flying back to Canada. She does want to go international, and when she does, she will take Bollywood along with her.

This article was first published on The Times of India's Crest edition dated February 5, 2011.