To Rome With Music

A musician as well as a director, writer, actor and comedian, Woody Allen has usually taken a keen interest in choosing music for his films. His latest, <em>To Rome With Love</em>, has Italy as its obvious sonic frame of reference. For the soundtrack (released on CD by Sony), Allen assembled, if not a cross-section of Italian music (where's the prog rock?), a wide variety suitable for the film's tone and setting. Domenico Modugno's “Volare” runs under the opening credits (and opens the disc), conjuring up the mood of those sun-dappled, made-in-Rome comedies of the 1950s. Allen commissioned original recordings in the romantic, accordion-driven style American tourists associate with the Eternal City. There are also oddball surprises, such as the 1978 “Amada Mia, Amore Mio,” which sounds like Italy's answer to Abba. Since one of <em>To Rome's</em> themes involves opera, Fabio Armiliato is heard singing excerpts from <em>Tosca</em> and <em>Turandot</em>.