andrea bocelli tour review

Andrea Bocelli

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What Andrea Bocelli proved during his return to Utah

You know you’ve witnessed something special when hardly anyone leaves early to beat the traffic.

By Lottie Elizabeth Johnson

In Italy, Andrea Bocelli lived out the early days of the pandemic in a state of “ worry and frustration ” — not just for the harrowing health crisis but also for the social wounds of prolonged isolation.

During this unprecedented pause in his career, he spent more time with his children. He listened to music. He tackled some items on his reading list. 

But through it all, he still possessed an eagerness to perform — to create and share with others.

So one month into the pandemic, on an unusually quiet Easter Sunday, Bocelli livestreamed a recital from an empty Duomo Cathedral in Milan. It generated more than 28 million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours and became the most-watched classical music concert on YouTube. 

A week later, he participated in a virtual music festival that raised nearly $128 million for COVID-19 relief.

Eight months into the pandemic, he released a new album.

Nine months into the pandemic, he livestreamed a Christmas concert from an opera house in Italy. 

In a nutshell, even as concert venues worldwide were shut down, Bocelli never did stop singing. 

And while music has long been Bocelli’s passion, there was more at play than a desire to perform.

There was a sense of urgency because the 63-year-old tenor believes the arts took a serious hit during the pandemic.

“Having to manage the health emergency, I’m afraid, often penalized music and culture, neglecting and often reducing them to accessory elements,” Bocelli recently told the Deseret News in an email, with the aid of a translator.

“Whereas, to the contrary, art (music included) is a gift that builds and fortifies the spirit,” he added. 

Now, more than a year and a half into the pandemic, Bocelli has finally returned to arena stages, performing for thousands of fans night after night. He seems to be on a mission to send the message that music, with its ability to inspire and heal, should be viewed as a necessity — not an accessory.

And he made a strong case for that in Salt Lake City.

‘Together again’

The last time Bocelli was in Salt Lake City , he didn’t say a word to his audience until the show was nearly over. He had never performed publicly in the city before, and he was there to sing. 

Three years and a worldwide pandemic later, he had more to say to his fans this time around.

“Finally, we are together again,” the silver-haired tenor said with a wide smile as he walked onto the Vivint Arena stage Saturday night. “I am very happy to sing for you. I am ready. Here we go.” 

But the night wasn’t all about Bocelli — it was a celebration and full display of the arts.

During a two-hour spectacle that featured operatic masterpieces and songs from Bocelli’s newest album, “Believe,” a wide range of guest artists and musicians — including rising opera stars, pop singers, dancers and the Logan-based American Festival Chorus and Orchestra — got a chance to shine alongside the renowned tenor.

But Bocelli also left the stage several times to allow for these guest artists to have their own moments in the spotlight. That included the truly remarkable soprano Larisa Martinez — who is the wife of violin virtuoso Joshua Bell — and Utah native Loren Allred , well known as the powerhouse voice behind the hit song “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman.”

But perhaps no guest artist received more applause than 9-year-old Virginia Bocelli, Andrea Bocelli’s daughter who accompanied her father for a moving rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah,” which is featured on his new album.

Most of the songs Saturday night were performed in Italian. But as her father lightly strummed the guitar, Virginia started off “Hallelujah” in English. Harmonizing with his daughter, Bocelli then took the second and third verses in Italian before concluding in English. As the song volleyed between the two languages, it was a powerful symbol of how music is a language of its own that can rise above any kind of cultural or linguistic barrier.

Just about everyone in the arena stood up when it was over, rapidly applauding as Bocelli beamed proudly at his daughter.

It would be one of many standing ovations that night.

Performing with a purpose

For someone who sings with such intensity, Bocelli stands surprisingly still, with his arms by his side.

His eyes are often shut tight, with the expression in his eyebrows — little crescendos and decrescendos that rise as he holds onto a note and lower as he finishes a phrase. Aside from leaving the stage to let another artist have the spotlight, Bocelli doesn’t move around much.

But he doesn’t need any grand gestures to make his point.

Bocelli wrapped up the concert with a special encore set featuring three classics: “Time to Say Goodbye,” “‘O Sole Mio” and “Nessun Dorma.”

Each number got a resounding standing ovation from the nearly sold-out crowd, and it appeared no one in attendance was ready to say goodbye — including Bocelli, who couldn’t stop waving to his fans.

You know you’ve witnessed something special when hardly anyone leaves early to beat the traffic. After a year and a half of music and the arts, in general, being somewhat curtailed amid the pandemic, this was a potent reminder of what we’ve been missing.

Before his visit to Salt Lake City, Bocelli told the Deseret News that while he felt “a bit apprehensive” returning to the stage — “like an athlete starting to compete again at the highest level, after a long period of forced rest” — he welcomed the gradual return to normalcy.

“The world needs to go back to making culture and frequenting art,” he said. “And this is the strong message that I would like to convey through my singing and, especially, through this tour.”

In fine voice, Andrea Bocelli shares the…

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Subscriber only, in fine voice, andrea bocelli shares the spotlight | review.

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Andrea Bocelli, pictured at a 2020 gala in Berlin, brought his latest tour to Orlando's Amway Center on Dec. 19.

Eric Jamison/Eric Jamison/Invision/AP

Matteo Bocelli, pictured at the Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas in November, is a guest on his father's concert tour.

It does a fine arts critic’s ears good to hear an arena full of fans giving thunderous applause after an aria. And there was plenty of applause Sunday night as a packed crowd in Orlando’s Amway Center cheered the latest concert tour from Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

“We’ve had a very difficult period but it’s amazing to be together again,” Bocelli said at the top of the show — and his fans seemingly agreed as they gave a warm response to a first set of operatic music, followed by an hour with a poppier sound.

By poppier, I’m not talking Justin Bieber, of course — but Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” was surprisingly given a lovely and lilting bilingual treatment by Bocelli and his son Matteo, 24, — whom Dad affectionately teased by calling him a “student” who hopes to be a singer one day.

Matteo Bocelli wasn’t the only one sharing the stage with the headliner; there was a veritable parade of talent, including Florida-born soprano Nadine Sierra, baritone Edward Parks, pop singer Lauren Allred, cellist-composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson, even a pair of dancers — not to mention, the local contingent of musicians from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Eugene Kohn, and singers from the Opera Orlando Chorus.

Of course, at age 63 Bocelli might be happy to let others carry some of the weight of the show. But his voice didn’t give any indication he’s slowing down. He remains a master of the sustained note, and his upper register is still clear and strong.

His setting of the “Ave Maria” (“Hail Mary”) text is tuneful and reverent. For a moment on the traditional “Our Father,” I thought he was ducking out of the high note — but no worry, he was just saving it for a powerful reprise, with the Opera Orlando Chorus adding extra oomph.

In a nod to the season, there was a triumphantly ringing “Adeste Fideles,” which was followed in a particularly odd change of tone by a cover of The Police’s “Roxanne.”

To be fair, it was a mesmerizing cover of “Roxanne,” with Bocelli turning the stage over to Witter-Johnson. Her voice floated over the music as she accompanied herself on cello in a rendition both plaintive and sultry.

Like the song order, the projected backdrops had a similarly eclectic feel, going from abstract to cityscapes to famous cathedral interiors to what sometimes looked like Bocelli’s home movies.

But the latter matched the family vibe of the evening. Matteo Bocelli also had a solo number — titled “Solo” — and as with his father, the higher in his register he sings, the more compelling the voice becomes.

Other solo turns included Sierra’s energetically floating “Je veux vivre” from “Romeo and Juliet” and Allred’s anthemic “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman.”

The cutest guest star, though was Bocelli’s 9-year-old daughter, Virginia, a duet partner on Leonard Cohen’s everybody-has-covered-it “Hallelujah.” Not a mere novelty, young Virginia has a distinctively engaging vocal quality and created rich harmony with her father, who accompanied on guitar — a move he joked could be “the most embarrassing part” of the night.

His interest in the guitar, he explained, was mostly in his youth when he would take the instrument to the beach. “I played guitar to meet some beautiful girl,” Bocelli said with a chuckle.

The guitar was well-balanced with the Orlando Philharmonic musicians; indeed the sound was mixed beautifully all night, with soloists, chorus and instrumentalists all making the right impact.

The Opera Orlando Chorus made a strong impact right from the start, adding percussive heft to opening number “Di quella pira” from “Il Trovatore.” Also making an impact in the program’s operatic section: Parks, whose resonant voice matched well with Bocelli on “Talor vedeste” from “Otello” and especially the “Pearl Fishers” duet.

But the true operatic showstopper was saved for the encore when Bocelli built a stirring “Nessun Dorma” to a majestic and rafter-ringing finale.

Find me on Twitter @matt_on_arts, facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at [email protected] . Want more theater and arts news and reviews? Go to orlandosentinel.com/arts . For more fun things, follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Concert review | Andrea Bocelli: Tenor gives satisfying performance

Super-tenor Andrea Bocelli gave not one but two endearing concerts, separated by an intermission and seemingly directed at different segments of his fan base, at the Schottenstein Center Saturday night.

The first, serious and straight-forward, was devoted to those fans who want to hear Bocelli sing opera and nothing but opera.

Standing erect and still in the center front of a large stage, and looking elegant in a tux, the silver-haired singer sang one aria after another, with no chatter in between.

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One could complain that these pieces are taken out of context, but their emotional strength is undiluted. Bocelli's extraordinary voice is both powerful and precise, with each word and phrase clearly articulated.

The singer was joined in duets from “Madame Butterfly” and “La Boheme” by soprano Larisa Martinez, whose singing was as nimble and playful and Bocelli's was controlled, and who therefore made an intriguing match for him.

The singers were backed by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, under the lead of Eugene Kohn music director and conductor traveling with the singer.

The post-intermission show was more eclectic and slightly more relaxed, covering a range of material from spiritual to decidedly secular.

This section offered a few moments of confusion. Why, for example, did the orchestra open the set with a long overture from “The Sound of Music,” a musical never referenced again, aside from the fact that it was probably familiar to most of the audience?

And why, during a pious rendition of “Ave Maria,” backed by videos worshippers paying tribute to the subject of the song, were two ballet dancers performing an erotic dance off to the side? The two, who appeared several times throughout the concert, seem to have been meant to provide visual interest, but were usually overshadowed by the singers and orchestra.

Sacred songs, backed by images of Bocelli schmoozing with one Pope or another, gave way to traditional Italian ballads. Schmaltzy but irresistible, “'O Sole Mio” was backed by images of some of the many singers who have covered it over the decades.

Accompanying BocellI in this half of the concert was belter Pia Toscano, who soloed on a melodramatic version of “All by Myself,” perhaps loading more emotional weight on the song than it could easily bear, and then joined the tenor in a duet on “If Only,” in which the two were well paired.

Rather than sing in English for more than a verse or so here and there, Bocelli chiefly, and wisely, stuck with Italian, which didn't present the same impediments to his vocal charms.

Bocelli appeared for three separate encores: a choral-backed Italian version of Beethoven's “Ode to Joy,” a duet with Martinez on “Con Te Partiro (Time to Say Goodbye)” and an exhilarating cover of the demanding “Nessun Dorma.”

Even if divided into two disparate halves, the concert was meticulously composed. Definitely falling on the formal, Classical side of the Classical/Romantic divide, the singer clearly pays close attention to what his voice can or can't do on a given day, and keeps well within his (considerable) range. This made for a concert that was, while not radically surprising or emotionally wrenching, satisfying and memorable.

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