ANDREA BOCELLI SAYS GOODBYE TO MOHAMMAD ALI

Sorry. No photos were allowed during the concert. I respected that request taking only this photo of the scene & the stage before the performance began.

I had the very great pleasure of seeing Andrea Bocelli live and in concert.
(Guys, if you ever want to score big points with your girl, seeing Bocelli in concert is the way to go. Merci beaucoup, Logan.)

At the SAP Center in San Jose, the stage was graced with the legendary Italian tenor, Andrea Bocelli. He performed classic compositions from his 15th studio album, ‘Cinema’ that comprises renditions of his songs used in film scores and soundtracks such as ‘Gladiator,’ ‘The Godfather,’ ‘Doctor Zhivago’ and ‘Life is Beautiful.’ In addition, he performed a collection of famous operatic pieces. As if Bocelli's epic voice wasn't enough, the evening was further enhanced by the flawless orchestra, a pair of classically trained dancers and a stunning violin soloist.

And while I didn't want the night to end, it ended in a way I will never forget. It was Bocelli's encore that left me breathless.
"Life isn't about the number of breaths we take, but about the number of moments that take our breath away." This was one of those moments.
In his encore, he performed three of my favorite pieces: Now We Are Free, Time To Say Goodbye & my absolute favorite - Nessun Dorma.

It was before performing Time To Say Goodbye that he addressed the audience for the first time with the announcement that he had sad news to share. He went on to say that he just received word that a friend of his and a great man of our time Muhammad Ali had just passed. He dedicated his performance of Time To Say Goodbye to Ali. It was a moment I'll remember all my life, when I saw and heard one legend of our time, Bocelli, bid adieu to another legend of our time, Ali. While nothing gold can stay, according to the poet Robert Frost, those with golden notes and golden gloves can live on in gilded memories like these.

Cheers to golden moments preserved in gilded memories.

For those of you not familiar with Nessun Dorma, here it is...
[ iTunes Festival 2012: London, Roundhouse, 18/09/ 2012 - Director: Carlo Bernini ]

Andrea Bocelli is ranked among the bestselling international music artists of all-time. Having achieved countless feats and established records worldwide, Bocelli is also a Grammy award winning singer.