BocelliOnline

[Melodie]

BOCELLI'S HIGH NOTES CAME AFTER INTERMISSION

BY CHANNING GRAY
Journal Arts Writer

Famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, appearing last night at the Tweeter Center, would have been wise to have skipped the opening group of opera arias and gone straight to the ballads and love songs, for that is where he really shines.

But it took him all night to find his element and to really hit his stride, with seductive tunes like "Besame Mucho" and the duet "Somos Novios," with crossover soprano Kelly Levesque -- music from his newest album, Amore.

But for some reason, Bocelli seems to crave the legitimacy of the opera world, and he dedicated the first hour or so of his program to the likes of Verdi and Puccini.

Thankfully he was in good company. Not only did he have the Boston Pops backing him up, but he shared the stage with a couple of up-and-coming opera stars, Mexican baritone Luis Ledesma, who was sensational in "Votre Toast" from Carmen, and Ana Maria Martinez, a wonderfully expressive lyric soprano out of Juilliard.

Not to be cruel, but one shortcoming with Bocelli's opera singing is the lack of facial expressions and bodily gestures, which is no doubt the result of his being blind. But those are things that can really add the sizzle to an aria and help tell a story.

The other problem is that he often doesn't seem to know what to do with that glorious voice of his when he's singing the classics. He consistently went for a big ringing sound, with deafening finales. One had to look long and hard for a little sweetness and light. That came, though, in "E Lucevan le Stella" from the last act of Tosca, when Bocelli let his voice just float and he stretched out the notes ever so delicately. There were sensitive moments, too, during the duet from La Boheme, "O Soave Fanciulla." Although Bocelli often sounded as if he were out there singing on his own and not making vocal love to Martinez.

But that all changed after intermission, when Bocelli settled into the kind of music that has made him such a sensation. There is something relaxed, and unforced about the way he approaches these Italian love songs. The phrasing is intuitively right, the sound ripe and full without being harsh or strident.

It's in this sort of repertoire that he makes musical sense. It's here that he knows how to sell a song, to tell a story. There is also variety to his singing, the kind of nuance that is often missing in the opera selections.

Conductor Steven Mercurio was at the helm of the Pops and backed Bocelli up masterfully in the ballads. And he provided a nice change of pace with his touching rendition of the theme from Cinema Paradiso, some of the nicest music-making of the night.

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PROVIDENCE JOURNAL

[Barbara W.]

Maybe Channing would have had a more positive reaction if she had only closed her eyes.

Barbara W.

[Melodie]

Barbara, for Channing, this was a very fair review...we've encountered him in the past and he went from warm to cold on us. As it happened, he was sitting right behind us and I asked who he was writing for...when he told me, I KNEW it was him but I asked his name and then introduced myself... he interviewed some of us for a pre-concert article a few years ago.

When we parted, I said "be nice"...for him, this is nice.

[woodsie]

Hi Mel, I was telling my son that a couple of the critics were not too kind to Bocelli and he said "Mom, did you like him?"
Isn't that what this is all about? I thought he was magnificent and I adored his performance. I thought the audience loved him, too.
That is what matters, I think.
What did you think of his concert, Mel?-----Woodsie-----

[Melodie]

To be honest, I was very unhappy with the sound system in the second half...I don't know what they did, but the volume was way beyond my comfort level. They also had too much bass and "reverb" (don't know the terms) to the extent that at one point there was some distortion - I actually thought Andrea would stop when he heard it and let them get it fixed, and was suprised that he didn't.

Other than that - Andrea was Andrea....nothing to complain about there.

[Barbara W.]

Melodie,


Thanks for the insight on Channing. Although I didn't hear the sound problems that you described, I expected more of a surround sound effect.
Nevertheless, the evening was wonderful.

Barbara W.

[Anna in NY]

Un altro......

Sunday, June 18, 2006
Bocelli charms the crowd as virtuoso and crooner

MUSIC REVIEW
By Craig Semon Telegram & Gazette REVIEWER

MANSFIELD— With a name that has become synonymous with “Romanza,” Andrea Bocelli made the crowd fall in love with him all over again Friday night at the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts.

And by the time the audience was ready to go home, the Tuscany-born tenor and public television’s Pledge Week darling had them at the altar, wanting more.

Touring behind “Amore” (the record that Bocelli’s adoring, swooning American fans have been waiting for with bated breath for nearly a decade), the 47-year-old crossover sensation and world’s best-selling classical artist delivered two sets that were as different as night and day — or should I say, black tux and white dinner jacket?


After the talented Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra showed its classical prowess with the overture from “La Forza del Destino,” Bocelli came out to perform his first number, “Improviso” from Giordano’s “Andrea Chenier.” With a sound that truly transcends all language barriers, Bocelli proved throughout the evening that his full, supple voice is one of precision and passion.

There’s something quite humbling about the first time you see Bocelli on stage. Led by the arm by maestro Steven Mercurio, Bocelli — with eyes closed, almost as if he’s mustering inner strength bestowed to him by some divine being — stands motionless in front of the microphone stand. As a result, the audience can’t help but cheer, even get a little misty-eyed, for the silver-haired, peppered-beard tenor. Sporting a black tux with a white tie and an occasional grin, the dashing and debonair Bocelli unleashed those blessed pipes of his and left the crowd speechless.

One reason why Bocelli is a crossover sensation is because he’s not your typical opera singer. The fact that he doesn’t look like someone who could inhale a plate of lasagna during a two-measure rest, or whose head is about to explode at any minute, works to his appeal. With his matinee-idol good looks and a real-life sob-story-turned-success story that would move the most hardened of Puccini’s doomed heroines to tears, Bocelli is more Rocky Balboa than Luciano Pavarotti. And audiences love to root for the underdogs, not because they’re necessarily the best, but because they will put up one hell of a fight.

Bocelli joined forces with Mexican baritone Luis Ledesma for “Au Fond Du Temple Saint” from Bizet’s “The Pearlfishers.” Looking more like an honorary member of Metallica than someone who would sing at the Met, Ledesma gave an infectious sense of camaraderie and friendly competition over the proceedings.

After whetting the audience’s appetite, Bocelli proved to the crowd that he was the genuine article with the first one-two punch of the evening, back-to-back Puccini numbers, “E Lucevan Le Stelle” and “O Soave Fanciulla,” from “Tosca” and “La Boheme,” respectively. Bocelli was joined by Puerto Rican songbird Ana Maria Martinez for the “La Boheme” love duet and, with their stellar pipes and piping-hot sex appeal, the two sizzled.

Bocelli ended the first set with another one-two punch, this time courtesy of Verdi. Bocelli hit a glass-shattering, spine-tingling high with “Di Quella Pira” from “Il Trovatore,” then led the powerhouse (with Ledesma and Martinez) in the trio “Di geloso amor” from the Verdi masterwork. And with the accessible, Reader’s Digest approach to classical opera out of the way, after a short intermission, the fun was about to start.

Backed up by fiery orchestration, Bocelli delivered the hot-blooded, Spanish masterpiece “Granada” and the Neopolitan delight “Mamma” with plenty of spirit and spunk. Donning a white dinner jacket (and even cracking a well-received joke on how the song warranted a change in attire), a more relaxed and playful Bocelli romantically crooned (with handheld microphone, no less) the tempestuous tango “Besame Mucho.”

Proving he can go from Puccini to Perry Como without missing a beat, “Somos Novios” (the Spanish version of “It’s Impossible”) was one of the evening’s indisputable showstoppers. Joining forces with blonde bombshell Kelly Levesque (who did not let the audience miss Christina Aguilera, who sang the part on Bocelli’s latest recording), the song was an incomparable duet that oozed romance and sex appeal. Levesque also had the tough task of taking over Celine Dion’s part on “The Prayer” by David Foster and Carol Bayer Sager, serving as another spiritually uplifting (hence, a little too sugary) highlight.

For his encore, Bocelli delivered the evening’s biggest crowd-pleaser with his breakthrough hit and signature closer “Time to Say Goodbye.” With Martinez filling in the Sarah Brightman role (who, last time around, also closed with the smash duet), Bocelli proved he has the star power and the pipes needed to reign supreme as one of today’s Casanova crooners.

Link to article:

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060618/NEWS/606180498/0/FRONTPAGE
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Beddu Turridu !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Janice]

Anna--I was very happy to see you post THIS review of the Mansfield concert as it tells what REALLY happened. It was so great to finally read a review that told things as they were. Sometimes (MOST times, unfortunately), I read a review from a show I attended and I can't believe the critic was at the same show. I'm not one for sending angry e-mails to clueless critics but I did send THIS critic a thank you!