“Will is power” is a saying that exists in all languages of the world. AND Andrea BosellI continue to use it in that somewhat Fitzcarraldo-like venture that is the Teatro del Silencio, which lurks all winter in the Lajatico countryside, waiting to take the sound and the word in the summer, banishing the cicadas for two nights. Nice premiere on Thursday, looking forward to today’s repeat, again with Emma, Giovanni Caccamo, soprano Sarah Cortolesis and baritone Luca Micheletti. Also on stage is New York-based singer-songwriter Lauren Allred, the revelation of The Voice America. Today and Monday also Celebrity Adventures, a charity event organized by the Bocelli Foundation, located between Lajatico and Forte dei Marmi in the new Villa Alpebella (formerly Da Oliviero), a historic club revived by Andrea himself after 22 years of neglect. “Singing where you were born and raised is something special, special, that matters,” the tenorissimo is recognized on shields, both in Puccini’s arias such as Addio fiorito asil and O soave fanciulla, and in tenor classics repertoire such as Mamma, Granada or I live like this.
First, Andrea, what did your friendship with Tony Bennett leave you with?
“I remember him at my home in Forte dei Marmi, recording Angels in Paradise together, and then the New York-New York duet at the emblematic concert of my career: the one in Central Park.”
How do you feel about the controversy surrounding Beatrice Venesi, accused of fascism for staging Puccini’s “Inno a Roma”?
“In addition to barrenness and stupidity, some contradictions point to frightening incompetence, because Puccini wrote this anthem there in 1918 and, therefore, long before Mussolini’s campaign against Rome. What does it mean, the fact that fascism then appropriated it? This piece was sung by Beniamino Gigli. and many others. I also performed it at the Colosseum six years ago, and no one called me a fascist for that. Of course it is.”
Much ado about nothing?
“The thing itself is too stupid not to cause some reflections; maybe some controversy is born to hide something else.”
And how do you feel about Alberto Veronesi running the Puccini festival blindfolded due to disagreements with director Christophe Gayral over the production of La bohème?
“I’m so used to being judged in life that I don’t judge others. But I think that either they believe in freedom of opinion, expressed as you please, or they don’t. During the preparations, Veronesi and Gairal said to each other: “Of course, if there was an agreement, the position of director would not make sense.”
Is it also on the album that your son Matteo intends to release on September 22 with the tug of stars Chasing, a single signed for him by Ed Sheeran? “No, the record he makes is entirely his own, as it should be.”
Would you advise him to try Sanremo or not?
“My educational goal as a parent has always been to raise free children who know how to use their heads. If you ask me for advice, I will certainly give it to you.
Experience matters too…
“Experience,” said the great sage, “is like an expired lottery ticket. Today’s Sanremo is not what I experienced. These are two distant worlds, almost at antipodes.”
And you with new engravings, how are you?
‘My Othello’ directed by Stephen Mercurio has just been released on platforms, while ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ and ‘The Force of Destiny’ will also be out in the next three months.”
Do you have a 40 year career where do you feel time has not changed you?
“The desire to do well what I do has remained intact. Sport teaches us that we have to give our best to win, and I feel the same way about a concert or a game of chess. If I don’t succeed, I adapt, but with a conscience I gave everything I could. Wanting to win big is immoral, but wanting to win is highly moral.”