Opera Singers Join Andrea Bocelli in Central Park Concert

South African soprano Pretty Yende is a
frequent concert guest of Mr. Bocelli.

"Ordinarily it is difficult for officials to estimate the crowd size for a concert in Central Park. But every attendee at Thursday night’s free performance there by the superstar crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli had to have a ticket, obtained in advance. And 60,000 were given out....Mr. Bocelli’s fans seemed thrilled, rain or no rain. There remains a considerable divide between the passions of the audience he has reached (his recordings have sold more than 65 million, according to his Web site) and the assessment of most music critics....The soprano Ana María Martínez joined Mr. Bocelli for the impassioned

Puerto Rican soprano
Ana María Martínez

duet 'Vicino a te,' from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier. And the soprano Pretty Yende was his partner in the 'O soave fanciulla' duet from Puccini’s Bohème. But once again, other than the announcement of her name, there was no introduction of Ms. Yende, a young artist from South Africa who was a co-winner of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition this summer." [Source] The New York Philharmonic was the back-up band for the evening with Music Director Alan Gilbert conducting the whole affair.