SENTIMENTO REVIEW - Richard Dyer
Posted by
Melodie @ 12:19PM PST
Bocelli's 'Sentimento' journey gets sidetracked by gimmicks
By Richard Dyer, Globe Staff, 1/26/2003
Andrea Bocelli's newest CD, ''Sentimento,'' will please the tenor's fans without necessarily persuading those who are resolutely unconvinced. It's an attractive but uneven disc, though most of the problems don't have to do with the singer.
The plan was to pay tribute to a minor but beloved genre of the past: celebrity vocal selections accompanied by celebrity instrumental obbligatos. Early in the last century, tenor Enrico Caruso made several best-selling 78s with the violinist Mischa Elman; the Irish tenor John McCormack recorded even more duets with the great violinist Fritz Kreisler.
Lorin Maazel, music director of the New York Philharmonic, grew up with his father's McCormack/Kreisler records and jumped at the chance to create a modern equivalent with Bocelli. The repertoire that the tenor and conductor chose is mostly Italian songs from a century ago, slightly different from the pieces that Caruso and McCormack recorded with violin (and some of which, like ''Ave Maria,'' Bocelli has committed to disc already). The only piece that McCormack actually recorded with Kreisler that appears on the new record is the ''Barcarolle '' from Offenbach 's ''The Tales of Hoffmann.''
Maazel presents this material in his own ingeniously elaborate orchestrations, rather than in the traditional tenor-violin-piano combination. Few arrangers know the orchestra as intimately as Maazel does. His ingenuity does sometimes draw attention to itself and away from the music; listening to his transcription of the rippling piano cadenza in Liszt's ''Liebestraum,'' for example, we wonder how he did it instead of listening to what it's for. Maazel also takes the violin parts himself; he's a respectable player, but hardly in the class of his predecessors, and his Stradivarius is sometimes unbeguilingly recorded to sound like an electric Hawaiian guitar.
Bocelli's many admirable qualities are constantly evident in the program of tenor favorites by Tosti (eight songs), Leoncavallo, Denza, Donaudy, and others - the buzzingly attractive tone, the long breath, the elegant phrasing, the beautifully poised soft, high notes, the clear and expressive diction, the open-armed emotion. The tenor really knows this style, which is both intimate and outspoken.
As Bocelli has expanded his activities onto the unamplified operatic stage, he has developed a more strenuous way of singing to meet those demands. In some of the quieter material here he seems to be pushing and pressuring his voice. ''Plaisir d'amour '' doesn't flow like honey, which is something we know Bocelli's voice can do and what we want to hear from him in this piece.
Maazel's arrangements and even his conducting are not invariably helpful - Rossini's ''La Danza'' goes so fast that Bocelli cannot articulate all the words and notes; he sounds frantic, not spirited and carefree. The arrangement of ''Liebestraum'' (Bocelli wrote the lyrics himself) sends the tenor to the top of his range and keeps him there too long, and you can hear the strain. The violin cannot stand up to the tenor as a partner in the ''Barcarolle,'' which was composed as a vocal duet; one wished Bocelli had recorded both singing parts, with the violin making it a trio.
Most of the controversy about Bocelli feels bogus to this listener. He is not a pop singer who is inflicting an alien style on the operatic art. He became a pop star by accident, and he has used his pop-star clout to get the career he wanted all along (a career few thought he would ever have because of his disability). In fact he sings many operatic arias and semiclassical pieces with better phrasing and style than you hear from most other contemporary tenors.
It is true that his voice is not large, and he couldn't venture some of the arias and songs he sings on recordings and in arenas in a large opera house where amplification was unavailable. But many singers have recorded operatic roles and excerpts that they couldn't possibly have performed in the theater.
And the fact that the microphone loves Bocelli's voice shouldn't be held against him any more than this phenomenon was held against the Romanian tenor Joseph Schmidt, or the Russian Georgi Vinogradov - or for that matter, Mario Lanza. In earlier generations, all of them reached audiences of millions through electronic means, on recordings and on radio, and all of them built audiences for concert music, for classical singing - and for other singers. Each of the Three Tenors has said that he would never have become a professional singer if he hadn't been inspired by the example of Lanza. If some kid out there in a darkened arena is listening to Bocelli and deciding to go for it, that's good.
Bocelli's new album will introduce different generations of listeners to captivating melodies that have won hearts for a century. And much of Bocelli's singing is so suave and heartfelt that it is irresistible. The problem is that the album has a gimmicky feel, and that doesn't work for this artist. What his fans love about Andrea Bocelli is that he doesn't need gimmicks - because he's the real deal.
This story ran on page N6 of the Boston Globe on 1/26/2003.
� Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
Connie Chung interviews Andrea Bocelli
Posted by
Melodie @ 7:49AM PST
Excerpt: Connie Chung Interview With Andrea Bocelli
Aired December 25, 2002 - 20:00 ET
This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York: Connie Chung.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening. Merry Christmas. Hope you had a good one.
We are going to do a little stargazing tonight. No, we're not looking for the star of Bethlehem. We are going to go up close and personal with some stars right here on earth.
We start with our interview with Andrea Bocelli and a special performance by him. Plus, we are going to take a look back at some stars who have already come by to visit and find out why Rod Stewart isn't singing that old time rock 'n' roll on his latest album, and Kevin Kline, and then the unpredictable, outrageous Carrie Fisher.
But first: Andrea Bocelli. The superstar tenor has been slowing down his pace to spend some time with his family, but that didn't stop his new album from going right up to No. 1 on the classical charts and beating stars such as Nelly and the Rolling Stones on the "Billboard" top 200.
You may know Bocelli as the blind tenor. He lost his sight at the age of 12 due to glaucoma and a soccer accident. He prefers to not talk about his blindness. But when he came to our studio recently, he talked about just about everything else.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Andrea, thank you so much for being with us.
ANDREA BOCELLI, MUSICIAN: Thank you. It's a pleasure.
CHUNG: It's our pleasure.
You are such a heartthrob. Women are throwing themselves at your feet. They're everywhere.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: Do you think to yourself, so many women, so little time?
BOCELLI: I think that it's not true. You are...
CHUNG: Am I exaggerating?
BOCELLI: No. You journalists, you say this, but it is not true.
(LAUGHTER)
BOCELLI: It's true that I suffered a lot, especially when I was younger. Often, I went in love with some friends in school. And, no, I suffered. Only later, things went better.
CHUNG: But there are so many women out there who love your music. They buy your CDs. And you're very romantic for them. So, that's a lovely feeling, isn't it?
BOCELLI: Yes, I think so. I sing, basically, romantic music. Very often, opera tells romantic stories, no?
CHUNG: Yes, indeed.
You have said that there's a distinction between singing for opera and singing popular songs. How do you distinguish?
BOCELLI: They are completely two different language, no? Because, in opera, I have to sing for people that are very far from me, instead of, when I sing a song, I try to imagine to sing like in an ear of a child.
CHUNG: In the ear of a child.
BOCELLI: Do you want an example?
CHUNG: Yes.
BOCELLI: Because I practice often with my children at home.
CHUNG: Yes. You have two boys.
BOCELLI: I sing for them. I try to be very sweet, something like (SINGING IN ITALIAN) Now, in this period that I try to sing for them some songs for Christmas.
CHUNG: Yes, that's beautiful. What were the words?
BOCELLI: It's "my dear Jesus Christ."
CHUNG: So, basically, you sing very loudly for opera, but for romantic, popular songs very softly, correct?
BOCELLI: Yes. But when I start it at home, I shout, of course. I have to shout.
CHUNG: Why? Why do you have to?
BOCELLI: Because I'm practicing it for practice music.
CHUNG: Practice?
BOCELLI: Every day. And my children, they come to me and they say to me, "Daddy, stop it.
CHUNG: Oh, really?
(LAUGHTER)
BOCELLI: It's boring for them, of course.
CHUNG: Of course it is.
The opera purists are not very kind to you. They don't like the fact that you are singing popular music and opera.
BOCELLI: They forget that the best tenor in the last century, beginning with Caruso, every tenor sung songs. I've done nothing special.
And I think also, to be the most purist possible, because I hate the amplification for opera music and the other things.
CHUNG: So you think you are a purist?
BOCELLI: I think so.
CHUNG: An opera purist?
BOCELLI: I think so.
CHUNG: Do you see a difference in your voice today than five years ago or 10 years ago? Or is it a very gradual...
BOCELLI: Yes, but also from one year ago.
CHUNG: Really?
BOCELLI: Because the sensation is different. Now I'm more sure and I feel myself more comfortable singing.
CHUNG: When you perform on stage, are you nervous?
BOCELLI: Oh, it's difficult to explain how much. I have big, big stage fright.
CHUNG: Stage fright?
BOCELLI: And I can't do anything, I think.
CHUNG: What do you mean you can't do anything? You can't do anything about it?
BOCELLI: Yes. I think I don't want to use drugs or medicine, so nothing. The only way is to go on stage and to hope.
CHUNG: Do it, huh?
BOCELLI: Yes.
CHUNG: Then, do you settle down as soon as you go into your first song?
BOCELLI: No, not very much until at the end, when I -- I have a difficulty. I feel fear.
CHUNG: You feel fear until the end?
BOCELLI: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Not like at the beginning, but it's difficult, yes.
CHUNG: I appreciate your honesty, but I really do believe that it's very common. Don't you?
BOCELLI: I think so. I think, also, many of my colleagues have the same problem.
CHUNG: Yes. Do you think you're shy?
BOCELLI: On stage, yes, but outside, very less, not really very much.
CHUNG: I know that you got a law degree in the event that you would not become a singer.
BOCELLI: Yes.
CHUNG: Will you ever practice?
BOCELLI: I think so. I tried it.
CHUNG: You did?
BOCELLI: Well, because it was interesting. I began to do this for a short period. And it was interesting.
CHUNG: You mean, you were a lawyer for a short period?
BOCELLI: Yes. Yes.
CHUNG: How long?
BOCELLI: A few months, because then I began to go around the world for singing and I stopped.
CHUNG: So, now that you're slowing down your schedule, what do you find yourself doing?
BOCELLI: I study. I read. I try to organize something for my friends. And I try to find some time for my horses. I began when I was a child, because I was born and grew up in a little village. And many people ride the horses. So, it was a big -- it has been a big passion for me.
CHUNG: Wonderful.
If I ask you, would you sing for us today?
BOCELLI: Yes, I will.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: I appreciate that.
BOCELLI: It's the first track of my new album, this album that I have recorded with Maestro Maazel, of which I am very proud.
CHUNG: And what is the album called?
BOCELLI: The album is "Sentimento." But the track is called "Aranjuez."
CHUNG: And what does that mean?
BOCELLI: It's the name of a place in Spain.
CHUNG: I see.
And "Sentimento," of course, we know what that means.
BOCELLI: Sentimental, naturally, you know?
CHUNG: Yes.
BOCELLI: But in this album, there are 16 areas of love. And I love it very much.
CHUNG: Well, when we come back, Andrea Bocelli will have a special performance for us.
BOCELLI: OK. I will.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: And, as I promised, we are back with a performance by Andrea Bocelli. He performed "Aranjuez" for us off his new album, "Sentimento."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(ANDREA BOCELLI SINGS "ARANJUEZ")
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Bravo.
Andrea Bocelli's album "Sentimento" had the highest classical chart debut since "Three Tenors in Concert."
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/25/cct.00.html
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