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December 2009
- Christmas Tour/ Christmas
Special
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- 4
reports
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- Who’s
Comin’?! . . . Andrea’s Christmas
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- December 5, 2009, East Rutherford, NJ, USA
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- Rain,
sleet, snow—the instant winter wonderland that descended on
northern New Jersey in the hours just before Andrea’s Christmas
concert was to begin may have been just right for the shiny bright
sleigh of a right-jolly-old-elf and his eight tiny reindeer, but for
those of us in our less magical vehicles, it hopelessly snarled the
traffic and forced the delay of the concert by half an hour. Even at
that, many were still trailing in during the concert’s first half.
Nevertheless, it took no more than a few notes of the radiant warmth
of our tenore’s voice to
thaw our hearts and rekindle our dampened holiday spirits.
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- Arias
We Have Heard on High
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- One
by one, during the first half of the evening, Andrea carefully
unwrapped for us gift after precious gift of an irresistible range
of arias from his performances, recordings, and his own personal
favorites. Each was reinforced with vivid images, projected on the
screen behind him, of corresponding operatic scenes. These were
lovingly selected and coordinated by Veronica’s father, Ivano
Berti, from Andrea’s own stage performances as well as vintage
excerpts from filmed opera performances of such luminaries as Mario
del Monaco, Mario Filppeschi, and Andrea’s beloved maestro Franco
Corelli.
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- Carmen
was the first focus. After Steven Mercurio’s characteristically
energetic conducting of the spirited Overture, Andrea took the stage
and welcomed us with “La fleur che tu m’avais jette’.” Note
by ever-sweeter note, he drew us in to the drama of this aria, until
the aching yearning of that final plea, “O ma Carmen…,” flowed
from his heart with melting pathos. Simultaneously, on the screen
behind him, was the image of Andrea as Don Jose’ down on one knee
in surrendered love at the feet of his amour.
It was stirringly effective. With “La donna e’ mobile,” the
character shifted. A rustle of recognition from the audience greeted
the opening notes of this surefire favorite, each note of it
delivered with clarion certainty by Andrea, confidently punctuated
and delightfully trilled. He makes it all seem so effortless, and
his audience clearly loves his cavalier presentation.
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- Then
“Panis Angelicus” (a change from the set program) shifted the
mood. Andrea unfailingly infuses this familiar hymn, heard
frequently from him, with honest emotion and faith. Somehow his own
deep belief in it gives him the ability to make each hearing seem
like the first. He followed this with the fragile simplicity of
Gounod’s “Ave Maria,” a reverent reminder from Andrea of the
young girl whose story is inextricably intertwined with that first
Christmas two millennia ago. Next he gave us the urgent and
compelling “Di quella pira.” Andrea could sing this aria a
thousand times and never lose the hold on us he creates with that
final riveting high C that evokes, inevitably, a flood of
appreciative applause.
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- Ana
Maria Martinez joined Andrea for two wonderful duets. It is
impossible to tire of “O soave fanciulla” from La
Boheme. For my money, Ana Maria has consistently been the most
winning and convincing Mimi to Andrea’s alter ego, Rodolfo. Surely
this musical moment is among the most romantic in all of operadom.
How much more enchanting, then, to have these two superlative
partners, and not only one
Andrea to interpret the role, but two. On the backdrop screen,
shadowing the real-life aging-to-perfection tenore before us on the
stage was video of the newly minted Rodolfo of the very first
starring performance that launched Andrea’s operatic career. It
was a veritable wealth of Bocellis that made us giddy, as did the
astonishing sweetness and ultimate power achieved by the the
climactic harmonized high notes of this superlative performance.
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- Then,
following an emotionally moving choral rendition of
the touchingly lovely “Va pensiero,” the two returned to
the stage for the forceful duet “Vicino a te” from Andrea
Chenier. The duet’s forceful high notes, thrilling and intense,
convey the unshakable love of Chenier and Maddalena. The effect was
reinforced by the backdrop of film scenes (with Corelli) from the
final trial and the streets of revolutionary France interspersed
with compelling close-ups of Andrea’s and Ana’s tender embrace
in the triumphant musical expression of the lovers’ defiance in
the face of their imminent death. This duet is a tour de force that
leaves you emotionally limp when the last note fades. Ana Maria and
Andrea abandoned themselves completely to its thrall. And so did we.
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- Since
their first tour together in 1998, Ana Maria has always been my
favorite partner to Andrea. She has increasingly become an operatic
force to be reckoned with, but her natural abilities were always
clearly there. I love the vocabulary used to describe her voice in
critical quotes from Hugh Canning and Marian Lignana Rosenberg in
the program: “vocally lustrous,” “velvety mezzoish half-tints,”
“gleaming top,” “smoky,” “soft-grained,” “unfussy
grace,” “ravishing soft singing.” All true, and all these
qualities were liberally demonstrated in her fiery solo “Les
filles de Cadiz.”
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- Sharing
this concert (their first Bocelli experience) with my niece and her
husband was a revelation. Andrea was in a note-holding mood, and his
sustained high notes were effortless and powerful. From aria to aria,
I could watch the effect of his peerless voice transform their faces,
hear their enthusiastic applause growing with each aria offered.
When the infectious effervescence of the “Brindisi” from La Traviata had concluded this first “classical” part of the
concert, Rich turned to me and said simply and emphatically, “I
could listen to a lot more
of that!!” Judging by the frequent and fervent hoots, whistles,
and shouts that punctuated these classical pieces, so could most of
the others in attendance—even that guy with the black T-shirt with
the skull and crossbones whom I had seen wander in happily with the
first wave of fans. So much for the theory that people supposedly
just tolerate the wait through the classical segment for the
“real,” more pop-oriented second half.
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- You
Better Watch Out!
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- A
concert such as this is a delicate and challenging blend of two
musical worlds and traditions. The leap from the powerful operatic
drama of “Di quella pira” and “Vicino a te” to a song like
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” popularized by such a diverse
group of performers as Eddie Cantor, Bing Crosby, Gene Autry, Fred
Astaire, Dolly Parton, The Smothers Brothers, Neil Diamond, Vince
Gil, and Bruce Springsteen might seem like an enormous vocal chasm
to bridge. But as the supremely confident Miss Piggy had pronounced
about her Andrea with
unflinching, no-nonsense Muppet wisdom: “He can do ANYTHING!” We
knew that.
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- Of
course, Christmas has many manifestations, from jubilant jingling
bells, to choruses of angel choirs, to children’s ringing laughter
and glee, to longing for times past and loved ones lost, to
prayerful reverence. With David Foster’s sprightly accompaniment,
both musical and verbal, Andrea shared them all with us, making each
traditional carol vocally his own, despite the long history of
famous and well-loved singers who have recorded them in Christmases
past. All those others were forgotten in each intimate moment with
his personal and distinctive presentation.
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- First,
Steven set the festive tone with Rimsky-Korsakov’s entrancing
Finale from the Snow Maiden’s Suite. Then Andrea, elegantly clad in formal winter
white, sat quietly down at the matching white piano and—true to
his deeply rooted faith—sang Schubert’s ardent Ave
Maria in Italian—his small gift of purest beauty to bless a
weary world. Perhaps there is nothing quieter than the sound of
“Silent Night,” unless it is the profound peace communicated by
the inherent ease and tranquility of Andrea’s voice when he sings
it. His reassuring simplicity and warmth are a natural match for the
essence of Christmas distilled in this timeless carol we heard next.
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- When
Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas” in 1940, I wonder if he
could have imagined how many voices it would inspire or how many
languages it would be shared in. Somewhere out there, I hope he can
hear Andrea’s version, in both English and Italian. Our tenore has
a way of just embracing you completely with his voice, heart and
soul … his spell was clearly cast at the Izod Center, with extra
help from the dreamy landscape of twinkling stars and wintry scenes
forming the visual backdrop that added a new dimension to this carol.
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- By
now, I’m thinking that half the population of the world has been
smitten by Andrea’s endearing
rendition of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” accompanied by the
small chorus of infectiously adorable little poppets. (In the course
of one day, Jack, who is on the road for a business trip, has
reported hearing it at Starbucks, Radio Shack, Chicago’s O’Hare
airport, and on two radio stations in Fort Worth, Texas!) Andrea and
the kids are having the time of their lives, and the whole darned
audience wants to sway in time with them. It’s just plain darling.
I only wish he had been able to manage his melodica solo as he did
in the PBS special. But I guess you can’t have everything. I had
to remind myself of the privilege it was just to be sitting where I
was.
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- Duets
were again a theme at this point, and Katherine McPhee had the
daunting assignment of taking the place of two luminaries who had
recorded on the My Christmas
CD, Natalie Cole and Reba McEntire. Thankfully, she did not have to
replace the Muppets or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and she did just
fine. The audience seemed to appreciate her new blonde look and
country sound, and Andrea was quite comfortable with the partnership
on both “The Christmas Song” and “Blue Christmas,” even
doing a little dancing turn with Katherine that naturally delighted
the crowd. (Andrea looked pretty pleased himself.)
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- It
is fascinating to hear Andrea adjust the qualities of his voice with
different partners, reflecting a bluesy mood or bit of country or
even gospel flavor as the tune requires. For me, the highlight in
this portion of the concert was the appearance of Mary J. Blige. A
ripple of surprise was registered by some when her name was proudly
announced by Foster, and she was enthusiastically greeted. There was
an electric connection that was palpable in her collaboration with
Andrea on “What Child Is This?” Both Andrea and Mary decidedly
have their own brand of vocal power, both singers were emotionally
charged, and together they conveyed this energy straight to the
heart of the audience. It brought many in the house to their feet.
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- Finally—sadly—we
had come to the last two carols on the program. Presented
back-to-back with hardly a pause, they brought the concert to a
smashing close. If you
can’t recreate the entire heavenly host of angels singing
gloriously on high, Andrea more than compensates for their absence!
Honestly, with the final jubilant renditions ringing in my ears of
“Angels We have Heard on High” and “Adeste Fideles” (accompanied
by the New York Choral Society and rousing orchestral support of the
New York City Opera Orchestra), I was thinking, “Who needs angels?”
If you haven’t yet devoted careful attention to Andrea’s version
of “Angels We Have Heard on High,” this is your homework. It
blows me away how he carefully and lovingly highlights every
individual note of that exultantly repeated chorus with the word
“Gloria” and then, as an added flourish, tosses off a
spectacular portamento of notes to the highest one on that last
syllable of “Deo.” To me, it is a Christmas miracle!! And he
does it more than once. He
is so clearly in his element with this sacred music, joyous and
triumphant in the giving. “Adeste Fideles,” in Andrea’s
impeccable Latin, marked the grand denouement and brought the
audience to a decisive standing ovation.
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- All
performers returned for well-earned final bows, and, as sure as
there is a Santa Claus, we knew there would be encores! First, there
was a lovely version of “The Prayer” with McPhee. When the
audience recognized the familiar notes, they once more roared
approval. Of course, “The Prayer” is a precious legacy to us
from David Foster. When they had finished, no one wanted to say
good-bye, and the stomping, shouting, and whistling summoned Andrea
back for the second encore—this one with Ana Maria. If possible,
the crowd redoubled the volume of appreciation when the last
familiar notes of “Con te partiro” floated out over them. It was
deafening. Yet, Andrea seemed drained and waved that familiar and
decisive not-to-be-contradicted good-bye high over his head as he
departed with Ana Maria from the stage. Steven followed. That’s it,
I thought. Two encores. But the orchestra remained seated. There was
an indecisive half-second lull, then, incredibly, Steven returned
triumphant with a rather reluctant Andrea in tow. I could hardly
believe that the unmistakably distinctive opening notes of “Nessun
Dorma” signaled one last encore. Having seen a somewhat weary
Andrea just leave the stage, I thought it might be hard for him to
summon himself to the final challenge of this daunting aria. But,
however much it cost our tenor, he made it look, to us, unbelievably
and gloriously effortless. When he had flung out to us that last
exultant “Vincero,” deeply grateful, we finally let him go.
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- Silent
Night
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- We
walked out into a bracing North Pole chill. The velvet black sky,
surprisingly clear of the earlier storm, was ornamented with
twinkling stars reflecting the lingering afterglow of Andrea’s
Christmas that danced in our memory. It was hard to avoid that
slight feeling of letdown, like the moment on Christmas morning when
all of the presents have been opened and that weeks-long state of
intense anticipation is suddenly over. Nevertheless, we knew we now
had the new tradition of Andrea’s Christmas to open all
over again from year to year to help make all our Christmases a
joyful, snowy white.
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- Buon
Natale, Maestro caro.
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- By
Cami McNamee
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I have just returned from another absolutely breath taking
performance....
My fourth time, still felt like the first.
There is a feeling that exists only in the experience of being in his presence. It is the feeling of seeing him with my plain eyes and not through a television screen. It's hearing him and knowing that his voice is not coming from a stereo but flowing directly from him to me. It is a feeling that I cannot experience anywhere else. Although I am only 20 years old I have experienced a lifetime and no where in the world have I found the feeling that he gives me. In a time when this world is so desperately in need of something beautiful, in him, I believe we have found it.
As even David Foster pointed out, the weather is quite bad this evening. Funny actually, because tonight was the first snow of the season which is quite late for this part of the country. The last month has been unseasonably warm including yesterday even. Yet tonight, when Andrea came to perform, even nature came out to greet him by putting on the most beautiful show it can, the winter's first snow. And even the wind, slush, snow, and horrendous traffic couldn't keep us away. Luckily I didn't miss any of the performance but some unfortunate fans missed the entire first half of the show. Yet they still came. Knowing that they would have to brave the storm and that they may miss part of the show they still came because something in him draws us to him. There is a quality about him that I cannot describe and cannot ignore. It is what makes him the man that we all love and will do almost anything for.
I believe it goes unsaid that his performance was amazing. In his usual form, the first half of the show he sang songs from his classical repertoire and the second half from his newest album. And we were also lucky enough to see the fabled wardrobe change as he slipped out of his black tux into his all white outfit that we have all recently become so familiar with. One of my favorite moments was during Blue Christmas in which he shared a duet with Katharine Mcphee. About half way into the song during some instrumentals she snuck in a quick slow dance which brought out one of the most beautiful smiles I have over seen on his face. The chemistry between them was wonderful and brought a smile to everyones face. Unlike the veteran sopranos and superstars Andrea usually performs with, Mcphee is relatively new to the scene and she brought a real sense of newness and excitement that I think everyone enjoyed, especially Andrea. At the end of another performance he even grabbed her and picked her up for a hug! Another special moment was Andrea's performance of Ave Maria where he played the piano himself. It's incredible to see how much talent this man has inside him and how lucky we all are that he has decided to share it with us.
Of course by the end of the night he had the crowd roaring and cheering. He finished the Christmas songs with Adeste Fidelis and we thought the night was done. But then he came back for an encore and left once more. After much cheering he came back again for his final song Con Te Partiro which he sang with soprano Ana Maria Martinez. And then he was gone. Or so we thought. We stayed cheering and whistling and clapping till our hands turned blue and he came out again. He waved and bowed and left the stage. But we stayed clapping. I clapped until I could no longer feel my hands, and my face ached from smiling. And then he came back. He sang Nessun Dorma and left us for the final time. And even now, as I sit here writing this, hours after I watched him leave the stage for the final time, I find myself left with a ridiculously huge smile on my face. And this is the feeling that I wrote about that I can find only in him and his music. If you share my sentiments you know the feeling I'm talking about. The overwhelming excitement and warmth that fills every part of your being. The feeling of total completeness and contentment.
For all of those who have this incredible experience ahead of them, I envy you. If you are anything like me, this will be a night that you will never forget and that will live vividly in your memory forever.
And to Andrea himself. I don't believe the words exist in English or Italian to say what I want to say to you. But I can say from the bottom of my heart that I love you. Thank you for everything
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- by
Nicole, New Jersey
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- Andrea
Bocelli ‘My Christmas Tour 2009’ by William E. White
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- Hello
again from William E. White. The year 2009 was a very special
year where I attended
many of Maestro Bocelli’s performances including the filming
of
the ‘My Christmas’ DVD at the Kodak Theater in
Hollywood. I
know it is February 2010, but I still find myself thinking
about the past year. The ‘My Christmas’ Kodak Theater
event was only a few days after Maestro Bocelli’s show at
Carnegie Hall in New York City. I already had plans to attend
the Carnegie Hall performance when the email alert about the
Kodak Theater event came thru. It was so close to the Carnegie
Hall date that I almost missed it because of other commitments.
But I kept thinking, “Andrea
Bocelli, David Foster, Kodak Theater. There is no way I will
miss that”. So I put the ‘other commitments’ to the
side and made arrangements to also go to the Kodak Theater.
Life is too short to debate these things to much. These days,
I find myself guided more and more by my heart in all my
decisions rather than the less important background chatter of
life. This decision turned out to be excellent. I would have
to describe Maestro Bocelli’s performance at the Kodak
Theater, as one of the highlights of my life. It was a
combination of Christmas music ranging from fun classics to
deeply spiritual songs all arranged and presented perfectly
with choreography that captured the mood of every song. The
millions of you who viewed the performance on Public
Broadcasting or purchased the DVD will understand. Having said
that, simply listening to the album is enough to realize that
a master piece has been created which will be enjoyed by many
future generations. The center of this master piece is Maestro
Bocelli, with vocal capabilities that defy logic. At times, it
feels like he is whispering to a child. Other times, the voice
can be so powerful while remaining calm and soft. Andrea
Bocelli, thru this album, transferred his Serenity and
Humility to the audience at a very special time of the year.
As if Andrea Bocelli was not enough, then add in some
incredible artists like Natalie Cole, Reba McEntire, Mary J
Blige, Katherine Jenkins, Delta Goodrem, Katharine Mcphee, Ana
Maria Martinez, the Muppets, a superb symphony Orchestra, the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a great conductor like Steve Mercurio,
with David Foster and true magic happens. The performance at
the Kodak Theater was Hollywood at its best, followed by a
‘My Christmas’ tour that reached millions of hearts
throughout the United States and the world. What an incredible
Christmas gift from so much talent. I am just a simple fan out
here, but would like to thank all of those involved in the
creation of this album from the bottom of my heart. As Maestro
Bocelli would say, “You
know who you are”.
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- After
the show at the Kodak Theater was over, I had a brief chance
to thank David Foster for all of the creative energy that he
brings to this world. Millions of people world wide have been
touched in one way or another by his creativity thru the many
artists he has discovered, the songs he has written along the
way, and the productions he has organized. But when referring
to Maestro Bocelli, at the Kodak Theater, David Foster would
say that when he is in the presence of Andrea Bocelli, this
feels as if he is with Mozart. I think the audience understood
exactly what he was saying. This is how I interpreted it.
There are ‘Great’ artists and then there are the
‘Greatest’ of all time. Andrea Bocelli is a member of the
most elite group considered the ‘Greatest’ of all time.
Very few artists worldwide, throughout an entire generation,
will ever reach this height.
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- A
few weeks after the Kodak Theater performance, the ‘My
Christmas’ album was released. The show at the Kodak Theater
had such an impact on me that I purchased tickets to relive
some of this experience at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort
Lauderdale and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Fort Lauderdale is
just a three hour ride from my home in Orlando Florida. My
Christmas spirit was running at an all time high in
anticipation of these two performances. The
tour was structured such that the first half of each show was
dedicated to an incredible range of arias. Maestro Bocelli’s
first passion is the opera. He will always perform the
operatic arias, even in a ‘My Christmas’ tour with
‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ and ‘Jingle Bells’. I
thank him for that, because it has enhanced my life
experiences. As with many Andrea fans, I discovered his voice
thru the duet he performed with Celine Dion (The Prayer). But
as time went by, Andrea Bocelli would instill in me a deep
appreciation for opera and the arias. I will always remember
the ‘Opera di Carmen’ at the ‘Teatro di la Opera’ in
Rome. I was so drawn into the performance that all of the
stresses of life were left outside of the theater. The same
thing happened again during the first half of the ‘My
Christmas’ performance in Fort Lauderdale and Las Vegas. The
first half of the show included scenes and arias from ‘La
Opera di Carmen’, ‘La Boheme’, ‘La Traviata’ and
others. Scenes
from these operas were perfectly selected by Ivano Berti
(Veronica Berti’s father) and projected on a very large
screen to create the correct mood. The soprano for this
segment of the show was Ana Maria Martinez. Ana Maria Martinez
was the perfect partner for Maestro Bocelli during this
segment of the concert. She is so consistent and professional.
By the time the first half of the show was over, Andrea
Bocelli and Ana Maria Martinez had already demonstrated the
dynamic range of their voices thru some of the most beautiful
arias in the world. Their voices were connected straight to
the soul, where there is a burning love for the opera. It felt
like they were able to reach everyone in the audience, as if
they were singing just for that one special person. My feeling
was that if the show in Fort Lauderdale or Las Vegas had ended
at the half mark, I would have been extremely happy and
completely satisfied with the performance just witnessed. It
seemed amazing that we were only midway thru the concert and
about to switch gears to the ‘My Christmas’ songs, which
is an opposite genre of music. I have always been amazed at
how Maestro Bocelli can switch gears like this, without
missing a beat. It is a testament to his vocal capabilities
and his state of mind as he reaches inward, finding that
special connection with each and every song. This is so
critical, given that his inner feelings will be conveyed to
the audience thru his voice. I have always said that there is
so much more to Andrea Bocelli than the incredible voice. The
qualities of the person behind the voice, is just as important
as the voice. This is why, in Andrea Bocelli, we have a rare
jewel and it is the reason David Foster will say that when he
is in the presence of Maestro Bocelli, it feels as if he is
with Mozart. I understand this feeling very well.
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- Moving
on to the second half of the concert, Andrea Bocelli would
walk out onto the stage in the white suit style used
throughout the tour and sing ‘White Christmas’ to reset
the mood of the audience. After this he would introduce David
Foster to a cheering audience. When David came out, you could
feel the energy and the Christmas spirit blossom even more. In
a matter of seconds, they shifted the focus of the audience to
the ‘My Christmas’ album. You could feel the excitement in
the air. Both of the concerts that I attended after the Kodak
Theater, followed the same itinerary, with the same beautiful
effect on the audience. The artist’s that performed with
Andrea Bocelli at the Kodak Theater did not participate in
these two concerts. Delta Goodrem would perform the many duets
with Andrea Bocelli during this segment of the concert. I had
heard the name before, but was not really familiar with her. I
think the same applied to the audience in general. David
Foster provided a very eloquent introduction when she walked
out on stage to sing Blue Christmas with Andrea Bocelli. This
lady has been one of the top artists in Australia and other
parts of the world for many years and is like royalty to the
Australian people. She has achieved so much at a young age.
She looked stunning to me, just absolutely beautiful. As soon
as the orchestra began playing ‘Blue Christmas’, the
audience became very quite in anticipation of hearing Delta
Goodrem sing the first lyric’s of this great song.
This was a critical moment for her, where the American
audience would judge her. And off she went with, “I’ll
have a Blue Christmas without you, I’ll be so blue just
thinking about you”. This is all it took. At the end of
this initial segment of the song, the audience went from
complete silence to a loud cheering roar of approval. She was
superb and the audience embraced her with a lot of love.
Welcome to America Delta!
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- The
concert continued at a great pace and shifted between the fun
Christmas songs that we all love from our childhood and the
deeply spiritual songs. I love the way Italian and English
segments of the songs were blended together, switching between
one language and the other at just the right moment. Maestro
Bocelli makes them both flow together as one. He connects the
audience with the cultural heritage of the great country of
Italy so well. We Americans love this country and Andrea
Bocelli magnifies this affection even more, especially when he
sang a simple Italian Christmas carol called ‘Caro Gesu
Bambino’. This song originated from Saint Francis of Assisi
around 1220 A. D. and is an Italian classic. This is truly
what Christmas is all about. And then there is another song,
‘The Lords Prayer’. It is very difficult to single out one
deeply spiritual Christmas song when you have ‘Angels We
Have Heard On High’, What Child Is This’, ‘Adeste
Fideles’, ‘I Believe’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘God Bless
Us Everyone’, and ‘Caro Gesu Bambino’. But this is more
than a song, it is the Lords prayer. I am not a person to
bring up the topic of ‘faith’, but I will make an
exception here. We all have a reservoir of faith that we rely
on to get thru our daily lives. The problem is that, at times,
the reservoir of faith can be drained quicker than it can be
replenished. For example, the images of the earthquake in
Haiti hit very hard. Well, this ‘My Christmas’ album helps
me find that reservoir of faith, reconnect with it, and
recharge it. The powerful vocal techniques Maestro Bocelli
used in the finale of,
‘Angels We Have Heard On High’, ‘Adeste
Fideles’, and ‘God
Bless Us Everyone’ seem to extend forever into Heaven. It
reenergizes the ‘good’ in all of us. It transfers a sense
of Serenity to our souls. But when it comes to ‘The Lords
Prayer’, David Foster, at the Kodak Theater, would explain
the effect it had on him. He said that when Andrea Bocelli and
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang this prayer in Salt Lake City
for the DVD, it was the closest he had ever come to Heaven in
his life. Based on my feelings and observations at the Kodak
Theater, Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, and the MGM
Grand in Las Vegas, the audience was also deeply touched when
they heard Andrea Bocelli sing ‘The Lords Prayer’. As we
Americans like to say, “It just does not get any better than
this.”
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- There
are so many stories from Andrea Bocelli’s childhood that
provide a glimpse into the person he would become. Those of
you that have read about his life will know the next story,
which stood out for me as I enjoyed the ‘My Christmas’
tour. When Andrea Bocelli was only eight years old, his family
visited Lourdes, France. Millions of people of many religious
backgrounds visit Lourdes in southwestern France because it is
considered a sacred site, thanks to multiple apparitions of a
celestial lady that called herself the ‘Immaculate
Conception’. These apparitions took place in 1858 and were
witnessed by a fourteen year old girl named Bernadette, who
was later canonized as a saint, many years after her death.
After some eighteen encounters between Bernadette and the
Virgin Mary, a spring formed at the base of a grotto marking
the location where the encounters took place. Eventually, a
basilica was built at the site. An eight year old Andrea
Bocelli would enter this grotto and make his wish to the
Madonna. Out of all the things a child could of asked for, he
requested Serenity. Andrea Bocelli’s mother, Edi Bocelli,
truly believed that her son would be granted the Serenity he
asked for that day. But Edi Bocelli went further. She also
said that her son would give the Serenity to many others. She
already knew this when he was only eight years old. As we all
know now, she was 100 percent correct. God gave him that
beautiful voice thru which he could give a moment of deep
Serenity to millions of people all over the world and even
transform lives for the better. Thanks to some great friends,
I would have the opportunity to convey my thoughts to Andrea
and Veronica Berti, who is always at his side. My first words
to Maestro Bocelli always start the same, but this time I
focused on Serenity by saying, “Andrea,
God created this beautiful voice but then had to find that one
special person to give it to. That special person is you
because of your great qualities like Serenity and Humility.
Andrea, your mother was right. You are giving that
Serenity to millions of people worldwide.” Maestro
Bocelli, always so humble, smiled and simply said, “I
try very hard.”
Providing a moment of Serenity thru his voice, is one
of the many goals he has always set out to achieve. By
every measure, he has succeeded. There are millions of us out
here that will testify to that.
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- Now
it is time to say goodbye once again. The year 2009 was very
special to me also because of the great people I meet along
the way while attending some of Maestro Bocelli’s
performances. It is fascinating to hear their stories about
how this music has affected them. This year, I will be in
Andrea Bocelli’s home town of Lajatico Italy for the last of
the five concerts at the Teatro del Silenzio. I travel to
Italy every year to enjoy the history, culture, and people of
this great country. I am truly looking forward to my next
visit. It will be a time to relax with some special friends
and enjoy the little things of life. Thanks to Maestro Bocelli
for reminding me thru music to slow down once in a while and
enjoy the special moments of life.
-
- from
William E. White
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My Dearest Andrea,
Though i know you have thousands of fans, I feel the need to
let you know that my dream came true last saturday night as I
got to see you in person at the Izod Center in New Jersey.
This was a last minute road trip from the central virginia
country side. So, being a cowgirl and a horse trainer, it
was a tough trip through a blizzard, tunnels, bridges and who
knows how many tolls??? It really was country girl
going to the city! I made it somehow, showing up in my
best jeans and cowboy boots and looked more like should
be at a George Straight concert but you gave me a memory
that will last a lifetime! You have truely filled me with childlike
happiness that wonderful evening. I love you and wish you all
the joy in life that you give to others... have a
wonderful holiday season and if you ever get to Richmond, I'll
always have a horse ready for you to ride!
Sincerely,
Donna C.
Powhatan,Va
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