If Venice needs evidence to justify possibly raising its tourist tax then Andrea Bocelli’s stunning performance in the city could be presented as proof of its exceptional status.
On Saturday night Piazza San Marco was packed as the Italian opera star took the stage to mark 30 years since his worldwide smash hit 1997 album Romanzia. If the goal was to remind everyone why he’s sold over 90 million records and generated more than 16 billion streams, mission accomplished.
As the first notes from the Orchestra Filarmonia filled one of the world’s most beautiful squares, several women dressed in Rococo-era outfits saunted through the seated crowd setting the scene for what appeared to be a homecoming rather than a standard tour stop.
A square, an orchestra and a medley of classics
The open-air setting of Piazza San Marco is unforgiving — water, wind, and centuries of stone can swallow a voice but the Tuscan Maestro took firm command extolling his operatic virtues with works from Verdi, Puccini and Bizet, including ‘La donna è mobile’, “Bevo al tuo frescho sorriso’ and ‘Au fond du temple Saint’ from ‘The Pearl Fishers’.
Bocelli’s tenor dovetailed perfectly with the stunning soprano of Mariam Battistelli on the Verdi and Puccini masterpieces. The pair’s performance was equally matched by the baritone of Roberto de Candia who accompanied them on a stirring rendition of Verdi’s ‘Non m’inganno, ella scende’.
After a brief but brilliant introduction during the first act, Moldovan-born violinist, and composer Rusandra Panfili returned during the second to woo the crowd with a ‘Cinema Medley’ from Ennio Morricone and then a mash-up of hits from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.
Crossovers and duets
From medley to ‘Melodrama’, the second act’s lineup contained songs known more to millions around the world from Bocelli’s three-decade long career as a leading crossover artist such as ‘Caruso’, ‘Romanza”, and Zucchero’s ‘Il mare calmo della sera’.
Special guest star Andrea Lykke was both vivacious and vibrant as she used her powerful voice in captivating renditions of ‘Stand up’. Her duets with the maestro on the ever popular ‘Vivere’, ‘Vivo per lei’ and ‘Canto della terra’ also had the crowd in rapture as she matched Bocelli line for line on the Italian classics.
It seemed as if the spectacular sound was designed to move both die-hard fans on the square and any accidental tourists in the vicinity of Piazza San Marco. The encore was inevitable: Con Te Partirò under the basilica’s floodlights, with the crowd on its feet for several minutes clamouring for more.
‘Nessun Dorma’ closed out the show with hundreds of mobile phones illuminating the scene. At 67, Bocelli’s tenor isn’t chasing top-note fireworks anymore. But his emotional impact and vocal acrobatics are still incredibly impressive.
Saturday’s show was preceded by Bocelli announcing a multi-year partnership with Philip Morris International called “Believe. Further.” No details about a new album, advertising, or charitable initiative were given at the launch but the agreement is understood to revolve around a transformational project with details to come.
