Although Andrea Bocelli still sound great in concert, those televised shows are NOW becoming somewhat boring. Not everyone approves of opera's crossover with pop, especially when we do get to hear not the best juxtapositions. After a career of nearly 20 years (he has turned 54 last September), Mr. Bocelli still has not worked out some of the technical kinks in his singing, which are both masked and revealed by the amplification he routinely employs. His voice quavers on sustained notes; his tone is often thin and shaky. And for all the innate expressivity of his voice, his singing is sometimes curiously bland. His rhythmic delivery can be all over the place. The album is a thoroughly conventional, formulaic offering from the Italian tenor, who sports the regulation white suit on the CD sleeve and dutifully delivers an easy listening mix of orchestrated operatic stuff and standards with the odd flourish of Italian and English. He divides his time between soft pop standards and poppified classical, both reaching the same slickly bombastic yet never overwhelming middle ground. No new converts will be made but no fans will be alienated either. While Bocelli ticks all the predictable boxes, there are also a number of usual suspects. His guests - Celine Dion, Tony Bennett and Davis Foster - are boring to death: they are over-exposed and people starting asking WHY they are everywhere. Skip this one and go for something more inspiring and less boring.

I want to start by saying that I like Andrea Bocelli. He is not one of my all-time favourite singers, though while some of the criticisms against him are valid(his vocal size for one) I can find that especially on YouTube-like when a great singer past prime is criticised(Sherrill Milnes singing Morrir Tremenda Cosa...Urna Fatale in 1983 is a prime example) Bocelli for example is brought up in a negative way in the singer in question's defence- that he is judged unfairly(ie. his voice is too small for opera so he's terrible or he is no Pavarotti or when people start comparing him to singers who have been singing for 30+ years).Why do I like him? Well, I do think that for what he lacks in vocal size(in comparison to other singers) is made up for beautiful and very distinctive tone. I also find that he is very passionate about every word he sings and that you can tell that he loves music, both of which are important for performing, and this helps for the arias/songs that are more sensitive to be moved by him. His concerts and CDs do show a fair deal of versatility, I can't think of many people who nowadays can sing sacred songs, opera, musical theatre, Italian song and Pop as well as Bocelli. He is at his best during The Prayer, O Sole Mio and O Soave Fanciulla(it's interesting though to see which of him and Bennett upstages the other), though Nessun Dorma is absolutely thrilling, La Donna E Mobile has the vigour it needs and he copes better than most at the rather taxing end of Di Quella Pira(holding a high C for over ten seconds or so without breathing). And this is a truly enchanting concert, beautifully shot with a lovely venue in Central Park(if not quite as striking as Tuscany). What stood out also was the atmosphere, often warm and thrilling. Usually I do prefer to be in my own private company at home watching opera and concerts, but Concerto: A Night in Central Park actually made me want to be there. As to expect, Bocelli's guests are a starry line-up and on top form, with Tony Bennett still looking and sounding good at 85 in New York, New York, Celine Dion as resplendent as ever in the wonderful The Prayer, Nicola Benedotti giving a blazing Concierto De Aranjuez and Bryn Terfel in firm, authoritative voice.The music is simply glorious. It is very difficult to pick favourites here. I'll always have a soft spot for the operatic music, and there's a fair few here including La Donna E Mobile, Di Quella Pira, O Soave Fanciulla, Brindisi, Nessun Dorma and Libiamo Ne' Lieti Calici. But items like Concierto De Aranjuez, New York New York, The Prayer, Time to Say Goodbye(good here but I did just prefer Sarah Brightman in A Night in Tuscany) More and the love theme of Sergio Leone's masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West are enough to make your heart soar. The arrangements are thrilling and not overly-sugary.Overall, an enchanting concert. Bocelli enthusiasts will love it, and I was more than satisfied, and just for the record this is coming from someone who has listened to singing dating from the likes of Caruso to now just in case one of the detractors feels the need to say otherwise. 10/10 Bethany Cox