Andrea Bocelli hopes to share 'evening dedicated to beauty' in first Oklahoma concert

It's time for Andrea Bocelli to say hello to Oklahoma.  

The famed Italian tenor will make his Sooner State debut with a June 23 concert at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center, and Bocelli told The Oklahoman that he relishes the chance to perform in a new place.  

"It’s an opportunity that comes ever so rarely, having traveled the world far and wide, in over a quarter of a century. ... The Oklahoma City concert is thus a special show that gives me great emotions. If it’s true that every time I step on stage, I do so with great joy, then the positive energy that motivates and recharges me will be even more intense," Bocelli said in an email interview. 

"This debut, in the later years of my career, is a festive moment that I am anticipating with great interest and eagerness. It’s another reason to give it my all, in the hope of sharing an evening dedicated to beauty.

"If members of the audience go home after the concert a bit more serene, with a smile on their faces, then I will have accomplished my mission." 

Acclaimed tenor's OKC concert to 'call to the driving forces of the soul' 

A globally acclaimed singer, Bocelli, 63, has been entertaining international audiences for more than 20 years while selling about 90 million records worldwide.  

Along with his sold-out arena-scale concerts and record-breaking live-streams, he has performed at major events like the Olympic Games, the World Cup and Global Citizen Festival, earned a Golden Globe and numerous other awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Bocelli is making his Oklahoma bow as he tours the United States — and later this month, heads back to Europe and the UK — in support of his latest album, "Believe," a collection of arias, crossover hits and love songs released in fall 2020.   

"The one main distinction I make when choosing my repertory is always between beautiful music and bad music. The challenge for me is to be able to continue to disseminate and promote quality, wherever it may be," Bocelli said.  

"I will also be singing songs from 'Believe,' an album that contains a mix of different musical choices that are timeless and not tied to any specific genre, but capable of sparking — independently of any religious beliefs — moments of serenity and a call to the driving forces of the soul." 

Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Canterbury Voices to back Bocelli 

In his Sooner State debut, the superstar singer will be performing with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, which he called "an orchestra about which I’ve heard many great things."  

OKC Philharmonic Executive Director Agnieszka Rakhmatullaev said the local musicians — including several players who recently backed The Who in concert at Paycom Center — are thrilled for the opportunity to perform alongside the world-renowned tenor in their hometown arena.  

"Our phenomenal orchestra presents numerous concerts in venues across our city every season, and we look forward to performing at the Paycom Center," she said in an email.  

About 60 singers from OKC's Canterbury Voices symphonic chorus also will back Bocelli in his first Oklahoma concert.

Canterbury Voices Executive Director Pam Mowry said the local singers are expected to be on stage for the duration of the concert and perform in French, Italian and English as they accompany the tenor on several selections they've been rehearsing on their own and as a group for weeks.  

"Our singers are incredibly excited — it's actually kind of hard to contain them. ... It's fun for them to get to sing with someone of his notoriety — and again with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. We always love performing with them. To our singers, especially a lot of them who are classically trained, this is a big honor and a big deal," Mowry said.  

"He's obviously the soloist, but we add in the middle or at the end of a piece the big wow factor ... to make it so much more exciting."  

Bocelli told The Oklahoman he is happy to perform with local musicians on his tour. 

"Of course, there’s work to do, in advance, at the podium. Although time is limited for rehearsal, I very much believe in the empathy that is triggered among musicians on stage," he said.  

"It’s part of the magic of this extraordinary universal language that is music." 

Andrea Bocelli to offer 'good music and positivity' in Oklahoma concert 

Audiences can expect Bocelli to bring the romance — or, since he's Italian, the "romanze" — to Oklahoma City. He said the first half of his concert will be dedicated to universally known and loved operatic pieces, while the second will focus on narrative ballads and contemporary songs. 

"So, we will be listening to music from the great Italian composers, from Giuseppe Verdi to Giacomo Puccini, as well as pieces from the French repertoire, and not only. Then the second part will feature the 'romanze' (songs) that warm the heart at every latitude, as well as some of my most famous pop songs," he said.  

"The purpose is to offer an evening full of good music and positivity." 

By the end, OKC audiences can expect to hear him perform his sweeping signature song, "Time to Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò)," which has been a global hit since he first debuted it 1995 and became an even bigger smash the following year when he recorded it as a duet with British soprano Sarah Brightman.  

"There are songs that the public connects to me and expects to hear from me," Bocelli told The Oklahoman. "And it will be a joy and an honor for me to return so much kindness and be able to accommodate them."  

ANDREA BOCELLI'S OKLAHOMA DEBUT 

With: Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Canterbury Voices. 

When: 8 p.m. June 23.  

Where: Paycom Center, downtown Oklahoma City. 

Tickets and information: https://www.paycomcenter.com.