If the evening of July 17 in Lajatico, Tuscany, celebrating 30 years of Andrea Bocelli ‘s career were a film, it would be an American blockbuster. In the Teatro del Silenzio (“Theater of Science”), a fairytale place among the Tuscan hills that only opens once a year and is in its 19th edition, there were big names as guests, an amazing stage, and the most loved Italian songs in the world, including “O Sole Mio” and “Funiculì Funiculà.” “I tried not to be overwhelmed by emotions,” Bocelli said the next day.
“I tried to express them, to convey them through each song, each duet, while maintaining the cold blood necessary to complete this bet, as beautiful as it is large, ambitious and – I can say it now – also a little risky, given the amount of songs, the lineup, the many people involved.” A guest list like this onstage hadn’t been seen since the times of “Pavarotti and Friends.” In fact, for the first time Bocelli virtually duetted with the image of Luciano Pavarotti, who appeared in a video behind him for “Notte ‘e Piscatore.
” At “Andrea Bocelli 30 – The Celebration,” the percentage of foreigners was close to 90% of the 12,000 present every evening (July 15, 17 and 19), as explained by Veronica Berti, Bocelli’s wife and organizer of the event. Most of the visitors come from the United States, but also from Congo, Peru, Spain and South America. In many cases these are people who return to the Teatro del Silenzio every year.
Boc.