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Las Vegas
Mandalay Bay Events Center
November 15, 2003
 


Las Vegas, November 15, 2003 - thanks to Carole!



Well..! This was quite the concert. We were most pleased.

He was in such fine voice. And his voice was so big. We loved everything about this venue. For one thing the arena is like other arenas in shape...but it is smaller...12000 persons, and the acoustics, at least this time, were just perfect. Not too loud. And the balance was super too.

Our sight lines from the riser section on the left side nearest the stage, was just perfect in every way. This is the first time for a Bocelli concert that they have sold all the tickets in the horseshoe area behind the stage. To see them packed solid tells me he is a big hit in Vegas.

Andrea seems to me to have reached another level of comfort with his concerts. He is radiantly happy and at ease. The voice is strong and rich. Still the same caring delivery as always. He really does get better and better. There are just enough new pieces to be exciting and just enough familiar arias and songs to flesh it out. And of course one always wants more...but that is as it should be.



Las Vegas, November 15, 2003 - thanks to Carole!

It has been a while since I have had the pleasure of Ana Maria with him and their voices are so well blended and satisfying together that I tried to savor the moments of the exquisite duets. I realize it is too much to hope for that they will be together as regularly as earlier years but when they do sing together it is like one of your best bottles of wine!

Steven was a big help too, as always and we do enjoy watching his explosive direction from the podium. I feel Andrea is in the most capable hands with him.

The solo from Otello is still a new piece to me. It seems more dynamic than melodic. I will have to hear that a few times to really understand it and recognize it. But "Vicino a te" is a wonderful duet from Chenièr and it was done to perfection. Very stirring and romantic too. Sort of a one for all and all for one song to forge unity of purpose. I did enjoy his "Ave Maria" and the way it segued into a part of "Sancta Maria." That was quite nice. I figure that is a bit of Steven's ingenuity coming through.

I was enchanted by the orchestration used with Andrea's own song "Voglio restare cosi." It is one I have always liked and it never occurred to me I would ever hear him sing it in a concert. It is a great idea to share his own works from time to time. When he played it in a piano bar I am sure it was less complex sounding. But with this orchestral arrangement...which may have been done by Mercurio, and which incorporated a dreamy, long, and beautiful clarinet solo, I believe I could see Andrea enchanted as well...a beautiful rendering of his very own work. It just made his composition take on a high class aura I had not associated with it before.

Las Vegas, November 15, 2003 - thanks to Carole!

And of course...the encore favorites are always hits with the crowd. I never tire of hearing just him sing "The Prayer" all alone...love that, and then the crowd always goes wild with his rendition of "My Way" as he is seated at the keyboard. And this time the "Con te partirò" was enchanting too. True, Ana Maria sang it with him but only a little part...he did almost all of it alone as well, and people cant contain themselves about then. It may have just been our night, but his baritonal range seems richer and fuller than ever before, and there are more than a few of those notes in these pieces.

Yes, it had been more than a year since hearing him live...and I really know I missed the boat last year by not seeing one of the "Sentimento" concerts or Butterfly. But this helped me bridge the months of wait. Now I look forward to January and can just hardly wait for Werther.

Carolyn Parsons

 
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