The Verdi Theater
filled slowly,the announced time of the concert(20.45)stretched to 21.30,the
audience became impatient and began to clap,to call,to stamp their feet.The
first rows(including ours--the second)had groups of excited(and fairly
loud)fans anxious for the show to come on. For once the Florentine audience
was quite warm...as opposed to the opinion of some member(s)that here we are
rather"cool"(perhaps the audience was imported?;-).
Our group was
composed of Patrice from l'Olanda lontana,Daniela dai Capelli Neri from the
not-so-near Marche,Giulio il Generale from Sicily/Tripoli/Florence,and Steph
from USA/Florence...not a bad representation I think,as to internationality.
The curtain rose to
reveal the beautiful tulle-draped stage,the moon of many changing colors,and
Angelo already seated with his violin.He played the Vivaldi,then this concert's
version of Fiera and Mela;after this he recounted the story,like a fable,about
the violin,how it becomes when played by different musicians,how every
violinist is a"passenger in the life"of the violin,and why the
violin is considered the"instrument of the Devil". He explained
again about the concert,its two parts,and the"empty and full spaces",and
that the musicians would deliberately search for empty spaces that the public
must fill acoustically.
The music continued
with Giovanna d'Arco,Vanitą and Fa Diesis,(with much rhythmic hand-clapping
of the audience led by the muscians seated at the table-which by the way
is called an"Orff Table,invented by the musician Karl Orff to teach music
to children,especially those with special problems),Eremita,and the now
traditional Donna della Sera(we had plotted to throw a brassiere onto the
stage,as Angelo always repeats that only once(in Lieigi)did someone toss him a
set of lingerie(with the price tags still attached),but we were defeated by
the logistics of the Verdi stage(it is set back about 3mt),the difficulty of
the toss...and by good sense...we were considering trying this exploit at
the Naples concert but as you know that was cancelled
:-(((.Funerale(with
relative gesture)followed.
There was quite a lot
of interaction between Angelo and the audience,especially a gentleman in the
first row who continued to thank him for his songs,his existence,and his
sweetness.At the other end was Il Generale,who wanted to know what the Liegi
lingerie smelled of(Angelo's answer:"Starch and plastic!")
All of these songs
were accomanied by the lively brigade of Ragazzoni,Gargioni,Huszar,and
Terzi,with percussion(including chairs)and accordion,with a rousing finale of
Cercando l'Oro,oh-oh-oh...in which the audience joined enthusiastically.
In the second part
Angelo had changed from the black satin shirt and pants(with bare feet!)to
his elegant Coveri frock coat outfit. The
music began with a breathtaking rendition of Ille Mi Par,lights and percussion
creating an almost tribal trancelike atmosphere,and after that the
touching Donna di Luce.
Then Angelo gave
brief descriptions of these two songs,and before each two of the following
songs and the group went on with almost all the songs of the latest cd,lacking
only Notturno and Shiragi.
Even Shakespeare,with
a dose of strong percussion,became quite exciting,and the intensity of
the words themselves of Fascia was incredible.
The concert ended
with the partial recitation and then the musical part of Cantico and
afterwards an exhilarating Perfetta Letizia,with the now famous cymbals
and tubular bells.
Then Angelo presented
the muscians and technicians amid applause and cries of appreciation;the group
bowed many times,waved,and went offstage.
Naturally the public
went wild and demanded a bis(there were many suggestions,including the
often-heard "all of them!!".Angelo complied this time with a song he
has not repeated after Mestre(as far as I know)--Ai Giochi Addio from
Zeffirelliģ's Romeo e Giulietta.
How do you ask for
another bis after something that was absolutely perfect?
BRANDUARDI-ANS 
