Con te Partiro - With You I Will Leave

Andrea Bocelli

The power of silence bursts forth in the moment that long-absent noise appears again.  If one remains quiet for long periods, maintaining patience and a stillness that which eventually creates a sense of calm and serenity, then the surprise of action, and/or music, any reverberation, begets happiness, excitement and most significantly, a harmonious satisfaction.  

Joy percolates in the experience of a rare occurrence.  Forgetting about the event or the privilege of it after some time, only later to be pleasantly reminded and surprised that it is still there if only but for a moment.  All of us have felt it: the anticipation of something long desired, the wait, the yearning to hear and see and do again.  Even when the silence may be difficult, the craving unwavering and at times unbearable, acceptance with the absence eventually takes hold and yet suddenly at the right time, the precious moment when you almost forget, life and music springs forth to unleash  a joy that feels anew.

This experience is Lajatico, once a year in the hills of Tuscany at the birthplace of Andrea Bocelli.  Beginning in 2006, the world-renowned tenor, sings one soulful and beautiful concert a year at his famous Teatro del Silenzio built in honor of his family and heritage.  As a tribute to his mother and father, Bocelli maintains the Teatro in silence all year until the one concert in the summer, when the tiny town explodes with Italians, tourists, artists, dancers, vendors, staff, and of course, the music. 

In 2009, Bocelli invited Buddhist monks to tranquilly chant the entrance of this night of music under the stars.  The evening continued with Placido Domingo, a brilliant boon for audience goers, and Toquinho, the Brazilian singer and guitarist.  It proved truly a night to remember. 

Although attendance requires raucously early booking, car rental and/or bus rides and long, long lines for entrance, the trouble dissipates as you wait in the gorgeous Italian sun overlooking the barren countryside with the night culminating in a serenade by classical masters.  With horses, acrobatists and orchestra, Bocelli elicited a magical performance that will remain in the hearts of all listeners through the hush of one full year. 

Sometimes the absence of sound, action, or any progression supplies energy to the moment when it is time to sing, move, and accomplish again.  Maybe the wait and the longing provide for a climax that would be less meaningful without.  No doubt, Bocelli fans relish the beauty of the hillside, the soft summer breeze in the small, local town, the travel from far and near to hear, only once a year, the voice of butter of Andrea Bocelli.  And it is this silence for most of the year that builds the inertia and vitality that explodes once Bocelli bursts on the scene with his voice on that one occasion every year that Lajatico finally sings.