Andrea Bocelli touches Las Vegas from Duomo
The cathedral was empty, but the hearts were full as Andrea Bocelli performed at the Duomo di Milano on Easter Sunday.
Bocelli’s power of love carried all the way to Las Vegas.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” Larry Ruvo said Sunday of the performance “It brought tears to my eyes. It was so beautiful. He is a great man and a dear friend.”
The legendary opera singer described the event as more a prayer than a concert, singing such selections as “Panis Angelicus,” “Ave Maria,” “Sancta Maria,” and “Amazing Grace.”
Andrea Bocelli singing 'Amazing Grace' today in Milan, Piazza Duomo.
Watch the full #MUSICFORHOPE performance on @YouTube at this link: https://t.co/2CuEyL0K5xhttps://t.co/04dvbuiz9Z
— Andrea Bocelli (@AndreaBocelli) April 12, 2020
Ruvo watched the performance twice, first on the live YouTube stream and later with his 96-year-old mother, Angie. “My mom is doing great, and she is home and she absolutely loves Andrea Bocelli.”
The Bocellis have forged a strong personal bond with Larry and Camille Ruvo during the couple’s ongoing support of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Veronica Bocelli is especially dedicated to the facility, as her grandfather died from Alzheimer’s disease, one of the brain disorders treated at the Ruvo Center.
Andre Bocelli has lent his time and fabulous voice to several Keep Memory Alive events over the past several years. It was during the 2015 Power of Love gala at MGM G that Bocelli and Celine Dion brought chills to the crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena with a duet of “The Prayer.”
“I saw them rehearse, and I cried all the way through it,” Ruvo says. “Then when they sang that night, I cried all over again.”
Zowie Bowie channels Bowie
Chris Phillips of Zowie Bowie has issued a challenge to his fellow Las Vegas entertainers: Produce a music video from home, using only materials found around the house.
Judging from his cover of David Bowie’s “Life On Mars,” Phillips keeps a lot of production effects in the garage. The Vegas vet trots out extensive makeup, multiple costume changes, a red wig, a smoke machine and extensive lighting (the family’s Christmas laser lights).
The lineup is Phillips, his wife, Jennifer; her stepson, Logan Perdelwitz; and the couple’s daughter, Ava.
Phillips promises a series of home-produced videos in the #MusicVideos4Vegas hashtag, benefiting the Foundation Assisting Seniors of Las Vegas. Find it on the Zowie Bowie Facebook fan page or YouTube account. Spoiler alert: Ava steals the whole show: Lights, smoke, all of it.
The ‘Vegas’ collab
We had mentioned sax man Tommy Alvarado’s video for “Living Las Vegas” this month. Tigran Saakian wrote and produced that song, to fill out the creative partnership. Really nice effort, and fortuitously timed.
Virtual Cool Hang Alert
Daniel Emmet’s online “Live (At Home) From The Desert” performance is streaming on his Facebook fan page. The guy can sing anything, which we’ve known since even before he auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” in 2018. But Emmet shows he can deliver a parody, too. His inspirational ”Don’t Cry For Me, Quarantina” is a highlight.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
