I am in debt to the entertainment managers in Abu Dhabi. They did their research. The two performers they invited to the capital this weekend were phenomenal! Both events took place @ the Emirates Palace. The place is lovely, but the parking is horrendous! However, the awesomeness of the show overcasts the horror that is getting out of the parking. It was a melee!
But anyway...
First up we have Andrea Bocelli!!
Who is he you ask? Only the most amazing opera singer alive!!
I cried whilst listening to his rendition of Nessun Dorma on youtube! Allah y3een what happened live!
I noticed something odd. Every time he came out the conductor was holding his hands. Then I noticed that he wouldn't open his eyes. I remembered a comment my friend had made saying," Oh isn't he the blind one?". I told her, "Oh don't be insensitive of course he's not blind!" I thought, "Surely that couldn't be true." But alas...he is blind! It broke my heart. It really did! I tried denying it for a while that I believed he wasn't!
Back to the concert: he was singing songs from his new album Incanto, along with two other people. Some songs I recognized and some I did not. After an hour and a bit the audience clapped like it was gonna end...but the good stuff came when he sang this tune. I'm sure you know it. Sans Elmo obviously! That reduced me to tears halfway thru. It was in Italian and with a woman but I couldn't find the video...
Then the audience applauded again as if it were the end. I was getting ready to leave (ie. see parking note above). But then the familiar notes of Nessun Dorma were transported to my ears thru the air. I sat down. Eyes already teary, I held my fist to my mouth and just let the tears roll down my face... throughout the entire song. I was feeling a combination of joy, sorrow, pity for this beautiful blind man who would never see the wonders of this world. He couldn't even see the grandeur of the palace he was residing at! I'm sorry this just hit real close to my fears, the one of going blind (al7amdulah 3ala il ni3ma).
Listening to opera live is so worthwhile. Such an enthralling experience. Music does speak to the soul, and I believe that more than ever after Friday night's performance.
Now Saturday's performance was...
