Andrea Bocelli: Bringing Classy Back

by Justine

I've been on a bit of a concert spree it would seem although the two concerts could not have been more different! As many of you will have read, the week before last I attended the Queen + Adam Lambert concert and last Thursday I attended...Andrea Bocelli. I have a bit of a weird taste in music, I like pretty much everything including some good old fashioned classical and opera.

My mum and I attended the concert together as she quite likes her operatic pop (she's a big Il Divo fan). We got all dressed up in our nice clothes and, with hot chocolates in hand, climbed up in the dark to our seats which, though fairly high up, gave an amazing view of the stage. The first difference that struck me was the kind of crowd present. People were drinking wine instead of beer (not that really makes you any more sophisticated in all honesty) and dressed in formal wear instead of rocker gear. Most significantly though, there were no angry drunk people...a welcome change! When we entered the stage was lit with a reddish glow and an entire, fully fledged orchestra was seated with their instruments with the conductor in front and a large choir of approximately a hundred at the back.  I found this quite surprising as I expected maybe a few musicians on stage, or even just a soundtrack! But nope, full orchestra. It was quite spectacular.

Full House!

Like Queen, Bocelli opted out of an opening act instead the orchestra acted as a sort of opening act. They began playing (and absolutely beautifully might I add) on the dot of 8pm and suddenly it didn't even feel like the same arena anymore. After two pieces, the conductor made his way to the stairs at the edge of the stage and brought Bocelli on. He was met with a polite but thunderous applause - no whooping here!

Australian Philharmonic with the Auckland Choral in the back

I was quite attracted to the simplicity of his performance. It was solely abut the music. There was no dancing or prancing about the stage, there was no big fancy show, just Bocelli standing in a single spot with his mic and his fabulous musicians behind him. After about two or three songs he was led off stage again and the orchestra played another few pieces. In general the concert went in much the same way; Bocelli sings two/three songs, he's led off stage, the orchestra plays.

The concert was divided in two halves. The first was very operatic and solely in Italian and some Latin. He was joined on stage by an incredibly talented young woman named Maria Aleida who sang solo as well as a few duets with him. I had no idea how that voice came out of such a small person!! Watching her sing was one of the first times I've actually seen music transcend a person. It was as if something else completely had taken over her body and she was just giving it an outlet. That's a true artist.

The man himself gracing the stage

After the first hour there was a 20 minute intermission during which the crowd scrambled out the doors to refill their oh-so-sophisticated wine glasses. The second half was slightly more operatic pop and included a few songs sung in English which earned him deafening applauses. In all honestly, I much prefer when opera is sung in Italian, Latin or even Spanish. English just seems so sharp and unattractive in comparison! With the shift in theme, a new duet partner was needed. He was joined on stage by Australian songstress Delta Goodrem. Don't let her more "pop" songs fool you into thinking that's all she can do. I was truly wowed not only by her extensive range (damn can she hit those high notes!) but also the purity of her voice, her tone and pitch. It was quite simply flawless and my mum remarked that she sounded quite like Céline Dion.

Duet with Bocelli and Delta Goodrem

The audience loved every minute of the concert. In fact, Bocelli performed not one, not two, but FOUR encores! My only complaint is that the majority of these encores were English songs (including New York, New York which is just one of those songs I can never seem to get out of my head). Fortunately he did eventually sing my favourite song, Time to Say Goodbye as a duet with Delta (during which she gave Sarah Brightman a run for her money) and a few others I was able to recognise including Funiculi, Funicula and Elvis' Love Me Tender. Below are the only two videos I managed to take at the concert (cellphones were frowned upon...oops!). The first one is I Can't Help Falling in Love with You and the second is Canto Della Terra.

Overall, the concert was truly a treat and I could easily have gone another two hours just listening to the three of them sing. The orchestra was on point although I found the choir rather lacklustre. But, I have to tell you about the absolute highlight which ironically did not happen at the concert at all!

For none other than Daniela's 21st birthday during which she treated us all to lunch at the Langham (soooo much food!!) and who do we see walk in? Delta Goodrem! Of course Daniela was the more brazen of the two of us and she managed to coax me into accompanying her as she approached Delta for a photo. I was pretty nervous but she was so lovely. She happily agreed to a photo and even wished Daniela a very happy birthday. I believe her exact words were "Watch out world!"...she doesn't know the half of it! And, yes, I did tell her she was amazing at the concert!

Daniela (left) and me with...DELTA GOODREM!!

KEEP

8.5/10 (I don't know if we can give halves but I am now so, yeah)