BocelliOnline

[Melodie]

Bocelli reigns supreme at ‘Royal Chrismas’ show
By Robert Nesti
Sunday, December 4, 2005

“Boston loves Andrea,” shouted a fan as Andrea Bocelli left the stage last night at the TD Banknorth Garden, where he performed as part of “A Royal Christmas.” Indeed, he was the main reason why the hall was nearly full, and his loyal following couldn’t get enough of his supple tenor. He even encored with “Nessun dorma,” but what’s a holiday concert without that Puccini favorite?

The program itself was a classy, if kitschy, variety show that mixed equal portions of dance and song accompanied by the big symphonic sound of the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra under the direction of Edwin Outwater. If it sounds vaguely familiar, it is, because an earlier version passed through the same hall three years ago with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Charlotte Church as headliners.

This production, part of multicity U.S. tour, was largely the same program with Bocelli and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves top-billed along with two dance companies - The Kyiv Ballet of the National Opera of the Ukraine and the Ukranian Shumka Dancers - presenting large chunks of “The Nutcracker” as filler between vocal selections.

The dancing was mostly fine, especially the effortless acrobatics of the Shumka Dancers, which was certainly livelier than the stodgy contributions of the Kyiv.

It was Bocelli, though, who captivated the crowd with a mix of numbers taken from his “Sacred Arias” CD.

His voice remains a powerful instrument, though its color was mitigated by the amplification, which made him sound simply loud.

Oddly, he offered two “Ave Marias,” one by Schubert and another by Gounod, and a third number called “Santa Maria,” which left one wondering if he had a Madonna (not the singer) complex. What was especially jarring - and laughable - was the accompaniment of a female dancer in a low-cut, blue gown holding a candle during the Schubert number. Touches like these emphasized the evening’s more synthetic qualities.

The striking Graves accompanied Bocelli in a lovely rendition of “Silent Night,” and an English and Italian version of “White Christmas” gave the familiar song a Neapolitan air. Otherwise, her vibrato-heavy mezzo was best put to good use with the spiritual “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

From the BOSTON HERALD