Andrea Bocelli In Tuscany

I went to Andrea Bocelli's concert in his hometown of Lajadico on Friday night.  It was wonderful.  This technically was the final rehearsal before Saturday night's concert.  But it did not seem like a rehearsal; it was basically a full-on version of the concert in which Bocelli, the huge symphony, and the other singers were all in extremely casual clothing.  To my refined ear, the performers -- especially Bocelli -- seemed quite polished and ready to go.  In addition, rather than there being thousands of fans in attendance, I think there were only a few hundred.

Anyway, the setting was absolutely incredible and the music was fantastic.  This guy can sing.  The first half was mostly opera -- my fave! -- and some of the numbers were a bit abstract or avant-garde.   The second half was more Bocelli-as-international-pop-star.  He did some pop standards like "Love Me Tender," "My Way," and a duet of "La Vie en Rose" with a video version of Edith Piaf.  The high point, of course, was when he closed with "Time To Say Goodbye."  That was something else.

I felt extremely lucky to see Bocelli and Bruce on back-to-back nights.  Doesn't get much better than that!