Carly Paoli (born 28 January 1989) is a British classically trained singer, born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England.
After leaving college she performed in concerts and for corporate events. In November 2014, Paoli made history as the first artist to perform at the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) Awards in Los Angeles, hosted by Hollywood actresses Olivia Wilde and Kate Hudson.
In June 2015, Paoli sang a duet with José Carreras in a unique performance at Windsor Castle, for the Prince of Wales
Paoli's recording, "Ave Maria", composed by Romano Musumarra with lyrics by Grant Black, was played on Vatican radio as the theme for Pope Francis' Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2016.
In July 2016, Paoli was the headline singer in Music for Mercy, a concert staged in the historic Roman Forum.
In June 2017, Paoli released her debut album, Singing My Dreams.
In September 2023, Paoli sang the Italian national anthem as part of the 2023 Ryder Cup opening ceremony.
Background
Born in 1989, she was brought up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Her father is English, but her mother is Anglo-Italian. Her maternal family are from, and still live near Lecce, Puglia and Paoli spent many of her summers staying with relations and singing in the local piazzas.
She started singing when she attended her local branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts in Southwell. The vocal coach noticed Paoli's talent and told her mother that she should have private singing lessons. Along with these lessons, Paoli also attended a theatre school in Chesterfield called Directions Theatre Arts, and performed in many of their productions.
Paoli was offered a scholarship to attend Tring Park and was initially on the Musical Theatre course, subsequently transferring to the Drama Course. She was then offered a scholarship to study at the Royal Northern College of Music where she gained a BMus qualification.
Career
After her training, Paoli performed in a series of concerts. At one of these events, she was approached to perform in Malaysia and following her success was appointed as a brand ambassador for Bedat & Co, a watch company. She appeared at the David Foster Miracle Gala, the International Women's Media Foundation Awards in Los Angeles and was then asked to perform by HRH The Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle and later at St James' Palace.
In 2016 her rendition of Ave Maria was chosen to be the official song for the Jubilee Year of Pope Francis. She performed in two spectacular concerts in Rome – the first at Caracalla with special guest Spanish tenor Jose Carreras – and the second at The Roman Forum called 'Music for Mercy' special guests Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Elaine Paige and The Tenors. The latter concert was shown live on RAI Uno and subsequently on Sky Arts.
She has performed on several occasions with Andrea Bocelli, most notably in Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, where their performance of "Time to Say Goodbye" was shown on PBS television. She has also sung for HRH The Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle and St James' Palace. Other concert venues include Carnegie Hall, Jordan Hall in Boston, the London Palladium and the O2 Arena. In 2018 she hosted her own concert at Cadogan Hall with guest Andrea Griminelli with a symphony orchestra conducted by Steven Mercurio. This concert formed the basis for her second album 'Live at Cadogan Hall'.
Her Italian heritage means that she is much in demand in Italy both on television and the concert platform. Apart from the broadcast of her concert from the Roman Forum on Rai 1, she has also appeared twice on the telethon, 'Con il Cuore di Francesco' from Assisi and 'Zecchino D’Oro' as well as other programmes.
In 2019, she became a Classical Brit nominee, and a BBC Music Ambassador in connection with BBC Music Day. As part of the Friday Night Is Music Night strand, she appeared at Lichfield Cathedral and was Michael Bolton's special guest on his show at the London Palladium.
Later that year she live-streamed a concert from the Bombed out Church in Liverpool, commemorating D-Day on her YouTube channel and another from her home in Puglia called Una serata in Salento.
Paoli and Calleja were reunited in the programme Christmas at the Castle which was shown on Sky Arts and also on TV2000.
In December 2021, Paoli sang at the Royal Variety Performance accompanying Jane McDonald in a rendition of Over the Rainbow.