Andrea Bocelli, the international superstar tenor, returns to GREAT PERFORMANCES once again to delight fans with "Andrea Bocelli: Love In Portofino," a new concert special in which he puts classical music aside for an evening of international favorites inspired by the breathtaking coastal setting of Portofino, Italy.
The Italian fishing village and upmarket resort is noted for its picturesque harbor and frequent celebrity visitors, as demonstrated by a kaleidoscopic photo montage featuring screen legends Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Eddie Fisher, Elizabeth Taylor, and current personalities ranging from Denzel Washington to Ellen DeGeneres.
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With 16-time Grammy-winner David Foster as both music director and keyboard accompanist, Bocelli is joined by trumpeter Chris Botti.
Under the stars, beside the shimmering harbor waters, and with a rapt audience that includes Paul Anka, Sir Michael Caine and Italian actress Ornella Muti, Bocelli performs some of the world’s most famous love songs, including “Senza Fine,” “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás,” “Bésame Mucho,” “Champagne,” “Love Me Tender” and in duet with the late, legendary Édith Piaf, “La Vie en Rose,” while his real-life love Veronica Berti looks on adoringly.
Bocelli sings in six languages (Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Neapolitan). The sensual sound is rounded out by Cuban, Brazilian and Portuguese rhythms.
"Andrea Bocelli: Love In Portofino" is, in essence, a sequel to his earlier GREAT PERFORMANCES special, "Amore." As with that concert, which featured timeless masterworks, the latest includes several beloved classics such as “Love Me Tender,” “Il Nostro Incontro” (the theme from Cinema Paradiso), “Sara Settembre” (better known to English-speaking audiences as Neil Diamond’s “September Morn,” and translated into Italian by Bocelli himself) and “La mia via” (“My Way”), with the composer sitting harborside.
Since GREAT PERFORMANCES introduced American television audiences to Bocelli with 1997’s Romanza concert, Bocelli has been featured in a notable series of GREAT PERFORMANCES specials, including "Sacred Arias," "Amore," "Vivere," "My Christmas" and "American Dream," his spectacular “Statue of Liberty” concert from New Jersey’s Liberty State Park.
"Andrea Bocelli Live in Central Park" aired in December 2011. Bocelli was accompanied by the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of music director Alan Gilbert, the spectacular event being Bocelli’s special gift to New York City.
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