Andrea Bocelli didn’t sing at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday. When will the Italian tenor return to South Philly?
Bocelli came on stage but was unable to sing. The show will be rescheduled.
On Thursday night in South Philadelphia, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli was scheduled to perform at the Wells Fargo Center.
Instead, just under an hour after the show was about to start, Bocelli walked onstage and explained he would be unable to perform. According to the Inquirer’s Alfred Lubrano, who was attending the show as a fan, Bocelli, 65, explained that he had spent all day with a doctor before making the decision. He also called off the previous night’s show in Boston.
A truncated version of the show continued for half an hour with Bocelli apologizing, playing piano and introducing other performers. Lubrano reported that: “People in the crowd cheered supportively and yelled, ‘We love you.’”
Late Thursday, Bocelli posted a statement on Facebook. It read:
“The voice is a gift that I have received, it is an instrument that has been entrusted to me: I have always considered it my precise duty — and an honor, and a grace — to be able to share it with those who want to listen to it. For this reason, as long as I am given the strength, I will continue to travel and sing. For this reason, especially on tour, I preserve it with the rigor of an athlete, aware of the privilege and responsibility that I perceive, respecting the public first and foremost, but also the large quantity of people and professionalism that are involved, and thanks to which it takes life a concert.”
So when is Bocelli coming back to Philly for a rescheduled date? For now, the answer is: we don’t know.
A spokesperson for the tour said on Friday that the Philadelphia show “has been postponed due to health challenges. Ticket holders should retain their tickets and parking receipts for the new date, which will be announced as soon as possible.”
Ticket holders who have questions about refunds should contact their point of purchase.