Andrea Bocelli With Jennifer Hudson, Diane Warren, David Foster & More at Hollywood Bowl: 6 Best Moments

Andrea Bocelli’s sold-out show at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday (Sept. 15) had many musical highlights. It was a very big show, with a very large orchestra and a large cast of supporting singers and dancers. It also had some issues -- which are easily correctable.

The show opened with a video which was basically a slick commercial touting Bocelli. It was unnecessary (we know he’s great, that’s why we’re here). Bocelli rarely spoke to the audience, perhaps because of insecurities about what he called his “terrible English” when he finally did speak at length, near the end of the show. His English wasn’t terrible at all, but his silence through most of the show had created a distance between him and the audience.

Bocelli didn’t introduce any of his talented singers, who sang lead parts when he was offstage, or his four dancers. Their names appeared on video screens on either side of the stage at the end of the show, as basically a credit roll for the production. It’s fine to do that, but it would have been more impactful to have Bocelli himself introduce the people who were doing so much to help carry his show.

So I’ll give them their due here up front: Aida Garifullina sang soprano, Edward Parks sang bass, Rusanda Panfili played violin. Pia Toscano served as a pop singer on several numbers. Francesco Costa, Angelica Gismondo, Brittany O’Connor and Paul Barris were dancers who brought touches of ballet to several numbers.

Bocelli did mention conductor Steven Mercurio and a few big-name guest stars who joined him for this engagement: Jennifer Hudson, Diane Warren and David Foster.

Bocelli’s current tour is celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of Romanza, the 1997 compilation that kick-started his career and remains one of the best-selling contemporary classical albums of all time. The Romanza 30th Anniversary World Tour is produced by AEG Presents.

Here are six highlights from Bocelli’s sold-out show, the first of two nights at the Hollywood Bowl.

Bocelli opened with nine consecutive pieces from classic operas, mostly from the 19th Century, by such composers as Giuseppe Verdi, Charles Gounod and Giacomo Puccini. They were mostly very famous classical pieces. Even so, this gave the audience credit for being able to go that long without a pop hit.

That classical stretch was followed by an eight-minute medley of songs from West Side Story, featuring the orchestra, choir and four dancers. This gave Bocelli a chance to leave the stage and take a break, and the audience a chance to hear songs from the glorious score by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, including “I Feel Pretty,” “Maria” and “Tonight.”