Andrea Bocelli’s performance at du Arena will be a dream come true for many in the audience. But that is not a feeling limited to the Abu Dhabi crowd — the celebrated tenor says he has been aware of this every night of his current tour.
After conquering hearts and charts with 15 albums featuring a wide range of classical styles, from arias and Italian folk songs to pop music, the 57-year-old’s latest project focuses on the magic of the silver screen.
Released last year, Cinema is a compilation of songs from movies. On the surface, it seem like a safe selection, including West Side Story's Maria and Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Dig deeper, however, and the album holds a few welcome surprises, the biggest of which is an unlikely duet with pop star Ariana Grande on the majestic E Più Ti Penso, from Sergio Leone's classic gangster film Once Upon a Time in America.
It may not seem like it but Bocelli — who lost his sight at the age of 12 — confirms that the album is a deeply personal project.
“It crowns a dream I have always had since I was a young boy. For its peculiarities I have always been attracted by this repertoire,” he says.
“Movies are a ‘dream factory’ — the music that supports them often keeps and concentrates in itself all their magic and sentimental vitality. The scores created for cinema are free and potentially very creative. It is like a vast prairie that composers can space as they see fit, according to their inspiration.”
With so many film songs out there, what did you look for when choosing the final 13 that made the album?
The selection was quite difficult. In the beginning, we listened and evaluated several hundreds of songs, drawing on a vast repertoire, with no limits of time and place. In the end I decided which songs excited me the most.
How did you apply your interpretation to these new songs?
I have to say that I have tried to take into account, in the choice of the songs, the ones that were more suitable to my voice. Of course, along with my collaborators we listened to original versions and to the most popular edition of each single song and then we gradually built my own interpretation, on the basis of the best arrangement found.
Your success has prompted criticism from some critics who suggest that you are not the most technically gifted singer. Does that bother you?
In the history of every opera singer there is positive and negative criticism, it is part of the game. Probably a small minority of classical-music critics, in the beginning, did not understand, nor welcome, the unusual path of my career — as well as the sensational response from the public. For my part, I try to be as careful as possible in my artistic choices and in the discipline necessary in my profession.
Is it true that your father initially hated opera? When was he convinced that you could go all the way with your talent?
My father did not hate opera, simply it was a genre of music he had not had the time to cultivate because he has always worked very hard and has never had the time to deepen his knowledge of the operatic repertoire. In my younger years, his apparent scepticism about my passion for opera was exclusively generated by the understandable concern of a father thinking of his son’s future. His concerns gradually started to diminish accordingly with my first successes.
How competitive is the opera field. Is it getting tougher for new talent to be spotted?
I fear it is a cliché to say that today it is harder to get noticed, with respect to the past. It is not like that. Talent shows, for instance, represent an interesting opportunity — they increase the possibility to be noticed and they also stimulate a healthy competition. They may be an opportunity to make other people find out what sort of service a young man can give to society through his work and his art.
As a child you were called The Earthquake due to your energetic personality. Have you mellowed out with age?
As a child and then as a boy, it is true, I was restless. I had a particular taste for challenges. Basically I was doing — if possible better than others, even at the cost of great sacrifices — all that I was not allowed or discouraged to do. As a young man with few responsibilities, I did not miss out the excitement of waterskiing and parachuting, as well as the thrill of speed. Today I am a bit wiser and cautious.
You are a spiritual man and have gone through your own challenges in life. What has faith given you?
Throughout life I have learnt the fundamental importance of faith and of a life set in the respect of others. I try therefore to put into practice those values — bright examples, in private as in public and social — that my parents taught me and that I try to pass on to my children. My faith was born in adulthood when some existential questions became urgent — it is really a priceless gift that I have tried to preserve and increase, and that supports me day after day.
• Andrea Bocelli performs at the du Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, on Friday, April 22. Tickets cost from Dh395 at www.ticketmaster.ae
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Rooney's club record
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253