New York Monthly Herald. July 2006 Issue P. 59 CONTINUES ON P 60

NEW YORK PERFORMING ARTS, FILM AND OPERA

Mr. Bocelli and the Philharmonic will perform arias from the world of Italian opera. Wed, Sep 6, 2006, 7:30 PM. Thur, Sep 7, 2006, 7:30 PM. Fri, Sep 8, 2006, 8:00 PM. Sat, Sep 9, 2006, 8:00 PM. Program includes: Verdi/Berio:  “Romanze", Verdi/Mercurio:  “Non t’accostare all’urna” ,Denza:  “Occhi di fata” , Bellini:  “Malinconia, ninfa gentile”, Donaudy:  “Vaghissima sembianza”. Andrea Bocelli, Tenor, Asher Fisch, Conductor.

When asked his thoughts on performing these concerts with the New York Philharmonic, Mr. Bocelli offered the following: “How can a singer express – with mere words – what it will feel like to sing in a temple of music like Avery Fisher Hall and to make music with what is considered the world’s greatest orchestra? It is useless to try; words aren’t enough, especially when talking about an artist like me, who has had a complex and, I dare say, challenging, career. “But I think anyone who will be there with me will easily understand the mysterious connection that unites interpreter and audience, all the emotion and certainly joy, at having reached this point and having gained the confidence of such renowned and beloved musicians. As always I will give it my all, and as always I will put my trust in the audience—my first and most faithful ally. The rest is in the hands of God.” Andrea Bocelli (at Forte dei Marmi, April 12, 2006).

GUISEPPE VERDI (1813 – 1901), arr. Luciano Berio (1925 – 2003), Sei Romanze (Six Romances) (1845). Texts by Andrea Maffei and Manfredo Maggioni
“It would have been impossible for me to orchestrate these expressive and idiomatic romances alla Verdi,” said Luciano Berio of Guiseppe Verdi’s Six Romances. “Instead I have not approached the orchestration in a homogeneous way, because these pieces, for all their Verdian style, are quite different from each other in expressive character, musical density, and the quality of their texts.” Verdi composed this cycle of six poems (his second set of six) for piano and voice, but in Berio’s orchestral guise they are reminiscent of the composer’s operatic style. Unlike his 1838 Romances, these songs are individually more distinct and different from one another, with text and melody more meaningfully joined. The songs are entitled: “Sunset,” “The Gypsy Woman,” “To a Star,” “The Street Sweeper,” “Mystery,” and “Drinking Song.”

GUISEPPE VERDI, arr. Steven Mercurio (1813 – 1901), “Non t’accostare all’urna” (“Do Not Approach the Urn”) (1838), Text by Jacopo Vittorelli
Before La traviata, before Aida, and way before Otello, there was Verdi’s 1838 Sei Romanze (Six Romances), his first cycle of six songs and his first published work. “Do not approach the urn/That locks away my bones” is one of this group of sorrowful melodies with texts by fellow-Italian Jacopo Vittorelli. Without the affection of his beloved, the singer thinks of himself as if dead. Her sighs and cries are useless to him who is but “a sad shadow.”

LUIGI DENZA (1846-1922), “Occhi di fata” (“Fairy Eyes”) , (Anonymous poet; date unknown)
“Occhi di fata” has a firm place in the repertoire of the world’s great tenors, but its creator’s name, Luigi Denza, is hardly a household word. Even his biggest hit, the spirited “Funiculì, funiculà,” an homage to the funicular railroad that took passengers up the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, is usually assumed to be a folk melody. Both are examples of the ubiquitous canzoni napoletani (Neapolitan songs). Born near Naples, Luigi Denza moved to London to pursue his career, which included teaching at the Royal Academy of Music and penning over 500 songs, many in the Neapolitan dialeact. Andrea Bocelli recorded “Occhi di fata” (along with Donaudy’s “Vaghissima sembianza,” also on this program) on the CD Sentimento with Lorin Maazel and the London Symphony, in Mr. Maazel’s arrangement). The singer rhapsodizes about his beloved’s deep, bewitching eyes and ardent kisses, which have stolen the peace of his youth.  CONTINUES ON P 60