Andrea Bocelli and 30 years of 'hard to forgive'

Andrea Bocelli

Some say he raised the bar for average audiences, exposing them to higher levels of music . Others say he lowered the bar for elite music.

Regardless, no one can deny that Andrea Bocelli's 30 years of activity since 1994 with his debut album certified platinum after just a few weeks, Il mare calmo della sera (The Calm of the Sea in the Afternoon), has reached an unbelievable level of success.

But didn't Bocelli himself quote Oscar Wilde's quip: "People will forgive you anything but success?"

Andrea Bocelli sings on Easter Eve 12-4

Although he is an opera singer, when mentioning Bocelli, everyone immediately remembers... Time to Say Goodbye , a song that is not opera, just pop with an operatic feel.

The distant melody like a ship drifting into the horizon of composer Francesco Sartori and Bocelli's sad and gentle voice without any sadness or lingering makes Time to Say Goodbye anchor forever in the listener's heart.

And anyone who has seen (not just listened to) Bocelli's classic duet with Sarah Brightman will not be able to help but remember Bocelli's calm, slightly bowed appearance, singing without singing, contrasting with a lively Sarah Brightman, always holding her head high, showing off her radiant face, and every time she reached a high note, spreading her arms to show off her charm, occasionally leaning on Bocelli's chest.

The problem is that they use microphones to sing. Opera singers using microphones. That's wrong from the start. It breaks the most basic standards of opera, despite the fact that Bocelli doesn't use a microphone when singing real opera.

No wonder some pundits have no qualms about calling Bocelli's music "fake grocery store crabs."

But could it be that Luciano Pavarotti, the greatest tenor of the 20th century, had the wrong person?

Andrea Bocelli

Not only did Pavarotti listen to Bocelli's tape more than 30 years ago and immediately give Bocelli the opportunity to record it, but at his wedding, Pavarotti also invited Bocelli to sing for fun. When Pavarotti passed away, his wife invited Bocelli to sing at the funeral.

Listen to the duet Notte 'e piscatore , a Neapolitan song written especially for the two singers. Pavarotti's voice is as bright as the sun, Bocelli's is as soft as the moonlight.

There was a moment when Bocelli sang lines like "And the moon knows how much I long for the sun. I wait eagerly, for that day to come...", Pavarotti slightly bowed his head, his eyebrows furrowed as if he was lost in Bocelli's singing.

At that moment, we understood why Pavarotti's family wanted Bocelli to be the one to send him off with music. Or maybe that was Pavarotti's own wish?

There is still video of Bocelli singing the hymn Ave Verum Corpus at Pavarotti's funeral at the church.

Listening to Bocelli's song at that time, we truly believe that when Patroclus died, the hero Achilles mourned over the body of his close friend just as deeply.

The only difference is that Achilles mourns in pain and tears, while Bocelli mourns in a clear, hopeful light.

Andrea Bocelli just had a three-day concert series Teatro del Silenzio to celebrate 30 years of his career. 30 years, and it's not time to say goodbye yet.

It's no exaggeration to say that half the music world came to congratulate him. If he had another 30 years, Bocelli's career would probably still be as glorious. Some people would find it absurd, even frustrating, frustrating that an opera singer would sing Perfect with Ed Sheeran.

Why did you use a butcher's knife to butcher a chicken, using the essence of opera as the basis for a popular song with billions of views? Perhaps there will still be people who will never forgive Bocelli.

But after all, who is still alive who is qualified to judge the music that once made others want it as a companion to the other world ?

Having lost his sight as a teenager, Bocelli seems to see something more than the rest of us, something that transcends the usual boundaries we place: elite/popular, opera/pop, even life/death.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/andrea-bocelli-va-30-nam-kho-thu-tha-20240804085952012.htm