Andrea Bocelli Stood Erect, His Voice Soaring Like a Prayer, Bringing an Almost Divine Beauty to the Sap Center in San Jose. As the Renowned Singer Used Sound To Depict Emotions—Love, Longing, and Triumph Intertwined Into Each Melody—the Audience, Breathless and Enthralled, Held on to Every Note. Strings Swelled, the Piano Whispered, and as He Reached the Soaring Crescendo, a Hush Fell Over the Crowd Before Erupting Into Thunderous Applause. In That Moment, Beneath the Spell of His Timeless Voice, Thousands Became One—Hearts Beating in Unison, Carried Away by the Magic of Believe.
SAN JOSE— An excited crowd attended Andrea Bocelli’s third show of his 21-city “Believe” tour on Saturday night at the SAP Center.
The well-known Italian singer sang both songs from his own songbook and songs from operas.A film introducing the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and showcasing its global humanitarian efforts kicked off the program. This trip only features one symphony, the Los Angeles Festival Orchestra, whose musicians arrived as amber lights poured down on the stage, in contrast to his previous significant tour, in which Bocelli collaborated with regional orchestras.
After turning their instruments the show began with a rendition of the “Kermess Waltz” from “Faust,” conducted by Eugene Kohn and accompanied by the San Jose State Choraliers singers.
Andrea Bocelli was escorted to the stage and immediately launched into Verdi’s “La donna e mobile,” from “Rigoletto,” a song originally made famous by Luciano Pavarotti. Images of Napoleonic soldiers in the French Revolution were displayed on the screen as Kohn introduced Donizetti’s “Pour mon ame,” from “La Fille du Régiment.” Kohn told told a story about tenor Enrico Carluzo, who notably struggled confronting the nine high C notes in the song. Bocelli tackled these with ease during his crisp and clear rendition, thrilling the crowd by sustaining one high C over eight counts.
Soprano Larisa Martinez then joined the performers, wearing a stunning white lace dress. Martinez sang solo aria “Je veux vivre” from Gounod’s “Romeo and Juliet,” followed by Bocelli performing Giordano’s “Sì fui soldato.”
The two dueted on a second song from Giordano’s opera “Andrea Chénier,” “Vicino a te s’acqueta.” Bocelli mentioned it was Martinez’s birthday and paused the show to sing happy birthday to her, with the crowd singing joining him.
Immediately after, baritone Edward Parks and the choral singers performed “Toreador, en garde!,” Bizet’s classic from “Carmen.” Bocelli, who’d taken a break during this time, returned to join Parks for Bizet’s “Au fond du temple sainte,” from “The Pearl Fishers.” The opera set ended with Bocelli and Martinez performing “Brindisi” from “La Traviata” in a duet, accompanied by the chorus.
After an intermission, the show reset with the orchestra performing a medley of songs from Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” including “I Feel Pretty” and “Tonight.” A pair of dancers performed choreography to the high-energy “Mambo,” reenacting the dance battle with thrilling spins, kicks and flips, resulting in a roar of approval. Bocelli was then joined by the choir on Bixio’s “Mamma.”
Other fan favorites included “Funiculi, funicula” by Denza, and “O sole mio” by Di Capua. Violinist Caroline Campbell, in a beautiful red dress, took center stage next. After a flourish of skillful bowing, Campbell played Lara’s “Granada” solo, backed by the orchestra. The dancers were back for a sensual Latin tango to Bocelli’s beautiful rendition of “Besame Mucho.”
At this point, singer-songwriter Katharine McPhee Foster made a surprise appearance in a flowing black dress. The one-time “American Idol” finalist and actress sang a moving rendition of “People,” made famous by Barbara Streisand in “Funny Girl,” before joining Bocelli for the Elvis classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “Canto della terra.”
After a standing ovation and encore break, Bocelli returned to perform a few more hits, joined by Martinez (now in a silver sequined, zebra-striped gown) for Sartori’s “Con te partiro” before McPhee returned for “The Prayer,” one of Bocelli’s top hits, and a song notably cowritten by McPhee Foster’s husband, David Foster.
The performance concluded with Puccini’s “Nessun dorma,” on which Bocelli was nothing short of spectacular. The clarity of his voice through the night was pitch-perfect.
