The whole show was very enjoyable but of course Andrea was the
biggeststar there. He was the second performer, dressed in a
dark suit and shirt,open at the neck, he looked his usual
handsome self, and slimmer. He sang "Aranjuez" and "Occhi di
fata." To me every time he sings his voice seems to have even
more depth and expression, it really is mesmerising. Before the
concert started and during the interval people all around us,
both men and women, were talking about the amazing affect AB's
voice has on them.
After the interval he was presented with the award for the
biggest selling CD of the year, Sentimento.The last award
was for the listeners choice of Best Album of the year, which of
course again was Sentimento, so all our votes must have
helped. Andrea said his English is much better this year than
last so he could thank us properly for both awards. He went on
to say that after last year he hadn't expected to be back again
this year and how happy he was. He finished by saying "I love
you all."
Then Bryn Terfel came back onstage again and they sang the duet
from The Pearl Fishers. It sounded wonderful and we could
see how much Andrea was enjoying himself by the way he turned to
Bryn and smiled. As they got to the last notes, everyone in the
audience rose to their feet cheering and clapping, it went on
and on. I was hoping they would come back for an encore, but no
luck. I came away with the sound of that beautiful voice ringing
in my ears and the image of Andrea standing there singing his
heart out with that gorgeous smile on his face.Truly a
performance I shall always remember.
Philippa Ede
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