Breaking: Andrea Bocelli confirms he will sing for Trump

Breaking: Andrea Bocelli confirms he will sing for Trump

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norman lebrecht

December 14, 2016

The blind Italian crooner has agreed to sing one sing at the Presidential inauguration, according to TMZ.

It is further reported he may sing a duet with Jackie Evancho, with whom he has toured.

 

Comments

  • paukenschlager oder timbalist says:

    Why not invite Kenny G, and Andre Rieu?

    • Sixtus says:

      With Gergiev and his Mariinsky band as backup.

      • Ungeheuer says:

        And Renée Fleming as special guest

        • John says:

          I think we have a list for Trump’s first Kennedy Center Honors!

          • Talking the talk says:

            I know, why doesn’t some high profile artist agree to perform BUT also very publicly donate their fee to some charity à la the conductor Joshua Weilerstein. Then the whole American nation won’t be deprived or ‘punished’ by not hearing the said artist, and at the same time can all feel the warm glow of self satisfaction that the artist is not really a hypocrite seeking career advancement by whatever means but congratulated on how well the situation has all been played.

      • Patrick J G Shaw says:

        Nice one! Then it would certainly be a riotous event!

        • Carol says:

          You can’t find a more appropriate song for this event than “Time To Say Goodbye” and dedicate this to Obama. Perfect gift for Obama

    • J. says:

      Because they can see Trump’s hair.

  • ceasar says:

    time to say good grief

  • OMG says:

    It just gets worse and worse….

  • Ungeheuer says:

    All these people, from Bocelli to Evancho to Jenkins to Ivanka to Donald, et.al. are so appalling, plastic and fake that it makes me nauseous to vomitous. They deserve each other’s company. None deserve our hearing or attention.

  • Stuard Young says:

    Jackie’s parents must be Trumpsters. I just hope she is not caught in a room alone with him. He maybe Tinyhandsman, but they are still big enough to grab her. I would not allow my daughter anywhere near him.

  • Patrick says:

    That’s it. I’ll never purchase another Evancho or Bocelli recording ever again.

    Oh, wait…

    Well, I’ll never again buy them as gifts for friends and family.

    Oh, wait…

    I’ll never listen to them on the radio again.

    Oh, wait…

    My boycott is a non-starter.

  • Holly Golightly says:

    I think this is the way to deal with the medacious finger-wagging from the Left. The only way: expect to see a whole lot more of it!!

    https://youtu.be/bAxSsHr1Hro

    • laurie says:

      I think the world you are searching for is mendacious. so clearly you are as illiterate as you are racist. And I would be hard pressed to think of anyone for whom the word would be more applicable than your hero Trump.

    • P Manale says:

      Holly, do the Dixie Chicks clear out some of the cobwebs in your mind?

  • Cubs Fan says:

    Ah, the snobbery never ends. Mind you, I don’t care for the musical style that Bocelli or Evancho or anyone else similar propagates. But…millions of people do. Even my barber owns Bocelli recordings and plays them in the shop. You wonder why classical music is dying? Did it ever occur to you naysayers that for most of their followers, this is as close to classical music as they’ll ever get? Maybe that’s a good thing. Donald Trump’s taste is crass, vulgar and bombastic, but he knows show biz and I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s doing. Rather than having the Ma-Perlman “lip-synced” classical musicians Obama had, he’s going for bigger commercial names. Personally, I’d rather have the US Marine Band play some great tunes and ditch the pseudo-classical. Or even George Strait, Clay Walker, or Tim McGraw. But no matter what music is played, the in-tolerant members of the party of tolerance will find some way to complain…

  • Wurtfangler says:

    So now it is a hat trick – blind, tone-deaf and dumb!

  • TlalocW says:

    The big worry for Trump’s transition team is that he’ll mock Bocelli’s disability like he did that reporter’s.

  • Larry W says:

    The inauguration will feature someone who has no vision.
    And, Bocelli will sing.

  • giuliana says:

    She owes her sound engineers big time. If there’s any audio of her unamplified, I would love to hear it.

  • Cyril Blair says:

    Barf. Hopefully an asteroid will hit the inaugural stands.

  • Lauren Lynley says:

    Such ugliness from people seeking beauty via The Arts!
    I did not vote for Trump and am not really a Bocelli fan however, we have had an election and under our electoral system Trump won. It is time for America to move forward and if Trump blows it then it is vital that the whiners stop whining and start focusing on providing better candidates for moderates and liberals to vote for next time around.
    As for Bocelli, he is no Domingo but he is miles above the likes of Jay-Z and Beyonce. I was a rock/jazz musician who found great classical and operatic music via people like Sarah Brightman, Renee Fleming, and Josh Groban. Merging pop/rock/jazz with classical and opera is a gateway into The Beau Arts. Stop your elitist sneering if you wish for real art to survive and be gracious to those just dipping their toe into the water.
    If Trump can bring a bit of class back to the White House, I am all for it even if I do not agree with all of his political beliefs. This is an opportunity to write to Trump to ask the government to fund uplifting and aspirational arts to create a kinder, more stable society. Or, are you all bloww and no go?

    • Me says:

      If Bocelli and Evancho are your idea of class, that says more about you than I especially care to know.

    • paukenschlager oder timbalist says:

      Mentioning Sarah Brightman and Josh Groban in the same sentence with Renee Fleming says it all.

      • Lauren Lynley says:

        I was referring to someone else who said Fleming was somehow below par. I listen to classical music in spite of jerks like you.

    • MacroV says:

      Trump bringing class back to the White House? We’ve just had eight years of about the classiest President and First Lady imaginable, all while dodging racist attacks. And while I’m not a huge fan of Jay-Z or Beyonce, I respect that they are the standouts in their fields, which is more than I can say for Bocelli.

      • Lauren Lynley says:

        Michelle Obama said that Beyonce was her heroine. If that is class, then it only goes to show how relative the term “class” actually is. I also pointed out that I did not vote for Trump nor do I agree with many of his policies. I was referring to the choice of music. BTW: Obama could never have been elected without the white vote. The racism schtick is getting old and people are simply not buying it anymore.

        • David Nice says:

          Beyonce is a wonderful and creative singer. Bocelli is a fake tenor. Now you’re guilty of ‘snubbery’, as you put it earlier. In each field the best, whether it’s Eminem, Whitney Houston or Pavarotti (OK, then, Kaufmann if you seek the living). But then I can’t help wondering if you’re another of those Putin-sent folk who flock to any site when the words ‘Trump’, ‘Hillary’ or ‘Obama’ appear. One or two have definitely popped up here.

          Anyone who performs is going to be tainted for life. Very unwise move even for a singer no-one who knows what singing is can stand.

          • Lauren Lynley says:

            Okay so the snob thing was a typo, get over it. As for being in league with Putin, seriously? Paranoid and rude. This whole thread makes me empathise with Browning when he wrote of loving humanity but finding people difficult to endure.

    • jaypee says:

      “If Trump can bring a bit of class back to the White House”

      Oh… that’s a keeper… “Trump” and “class” in the same sentence…
      Who said that the deplorables had no sense of humor…

      À propos class, has anyone seen the future First Pole-Dancer Lady since the election?

      • Lauren Lynley says:

        Regarding Trump and Class: I was referring only to his choice of a cross-over classical singer as opposed to Obama’s show of class via Jay-Z & Beyonce’s appearance at the White House where the N word was repeatedly dropped and Bey wore so little that the world has become her gynaecologist. Holly GoLightly linked to a description of your particular condition, you may want to get some help for that.

  • John says:

    Hell, I kind of figured he’d have the Kirov Opera or St. Petersburg Philharmonic. And Vladdy’s friend Gergiev would HAVE to conduct. Maybe give The Donald a star turn on the podium. (Do you think The Donald’s hair dresser could create a weave for Vladdy? They could be twins!)

  • Ilio says:

    Would think that the Donald wouldn’t allow Bocelli into the country since he’s an alien.

  • OMG says:

    Just don’t give him a microphone or a sound engineer. He’ll not cause too much trouble then.

  • Adrienne says:

    Glad to see that the spirit of Christmas is alive and well on SlippedDisc.

    • DESR says:

      Quite! Nasty stuff flying around here.

      Some Christmastide introspection needed, but I fear it will not come to those who live in an echo chamber.

      Sad, so sad…

    • Max Grimm says:

      Best to leave Christmas out of it. Before you know it some here will tell us how Santa Clause is a self-righteous, leftist pig who is secretly scheming to spread communism and socialist ideology with his “season of giving”, while others will have us believe that he’s actually a self-righteous, fascist pig, secretly invented to rule and control the world with capitalist and commercialist mind control plots, using said season.

    • David says:

      Don’t come here very often, do you?

      It’s a pompous, hypocritical, nest of snakes most of the time.

  • OMG says:

    I’d like to know how many of these people above (Adrienne, Desr….) have actually worked, toured or recorded with these “artists”. It’s certainly an interesting experience. There must be so many fine working American musicians right there on the spot, as there would be here in the UK, who would be more than happy to help out, would put on a stunning performance and would command a fraction of the fee of the “artists”. (Let’s not get into a discussion about our musicians’ fees here though!!!)

    • V.Lind says:

      I don’t think that many fine working artists want to be associated with this man or this presidency.

      But I’ll bet he is the first Pres-elect who has had to offer a big fee to get someone to perform at the Inauguration. Most artists would consider it a huge honour to be asked.

      I hear the designers are avoiding offering to dress the incoming First “Lady” as well.

  • Ben says:

    Everything at the inauguration is pre-recorded, so there will be no “live” performances of anything.

  • Brian says:

    You can ‘slam’ Andrea all you like – perhaps his choices of repertoire were sell-outs. But he has overcome obstacles none of you will ever experience, and reached a level of vocal skill none of you will ever achieve. I have performed with him on a few occasions (in Canada) and he is a musician and artist of impressive talent. I regret his decision, though, to ‘validate’ a president who should never have reached the White House. The spectacle continues…

    • Lauren Lynley says:

      Agreed. He has overcome blindness to rise to the top of the Adult Contemporary charts, a feat none of these people here have achieved.. I am getting slammed by the Snobby McSnobfaces here because I pointed out that I came to love classical music to via many classical/pop crossover artists. I also pointed out to these holier-than-thous that without new people being introduced into the opera/classical genre, the art dies. I am starting to think that many of these people do not love the music, they love the exclusivity of it. It makes them feel superior or special. Sad really.

  • V.Lind says:

    It’s the perfect music of the post-truth era.

  • Mom says:

    Is Bocelli an American Citizen….if not…Trump again blunders

  • enness says:

    90% of the ‘holes on this comment thread haven’t figured out that being a pretentious, insufferable snob isn’t the way to convert people to your world view. Thanks for giving me a reason to loathe my former profession!

    • Fred Obelisk says:

      It interests me that the greatest hatred on this blog is usually directed at the Classical Crossover genre.
      From the fundamentalist perspective, CC lies in the uncanny valley:
      “They are like us, but not quite right and so are repulsive.”

  • OMG says:

    I repeat….. How many of these fans of this ‘artist’ have seen the day in nitty gritty side of the product before it’s been seriously tinkered with. I’m sorry, I’m a musician with musicians’ standards. He doesn’t even have any personality or charisma. It’s a real con.

  • John Borstlap says:

    Everyone working with mr T-Rex is compromising him/herself. He is like a magic potion: all the truth about people is coming out.j

  • Holly Golightly says:

    Very many of those who have commented here on this subject belong to this very special group:

    https://slowpolitics.co.uk/2016/11/16/the-virus-of-virtue-signalling/

    • Lauren Lynley says:

      How right you are. I read the article you linked to and it indeed sums up the linguistic dribblings of many here and the legions of VSers cluttering up media and general discourse for the past year or two. I do hope this new and tiresome “social disease” clears up soon, it is so tedious and just plain ugly.

    • Sixtus says:

      It seems to me that pointing out ‘virtue signalling’ is itself a form of that phenomenon: a form of holier-than-thou one-upmanship.

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