What an absolutely amazing night!  We started the morning off with the Mr. going down to the Ritz-Carlton to pick up Alberto and Cinzea Bocelli for an excursion to Red Rocks.  The Mr. called to give Antonio and me the “Heads Up” that he would be returning with two extras, Amos and Mattea Bocelli, (Andrea’s sons).  I quickly called the oldest at his friend’s house to see if he was interested in a morning at Red Rocks.  He was…so I quickly picked him up and returned home for him to change into tennis shoes.  Everyone was out front when we drove up.  We loaded up into two cars and the nine of us made our  way to Red Rocks Ampitheater. The air was crisp and cool and the humidity was thick.  Oh how I 
love humidity!  The group was amazed by the natural beauty of the Red Rocks and the construction of the amphitheater.  Alberto has a PhD in Architecture and he designed the Teatro de Silenzeo in Lajtico, Italy. It is an outdoor Amphitheater for Andrea to perform in every July…needless to say…Alberto was really interested in the history and the Architect’s inspiration for Red Rocks.  The inspiration for Red Rocks actually came from some Roman ruins…just a fun fact.  After walking down the steps and back up and explaining the exercise boot camps that were going on we all took a guided tour (guided by Doug) through the visitors center.  On a side note…Andrea’s eldest son, Amos found it quite humorous that Americans will get up at 5:00a.m. to run stairs and workout.  He said no way would Italians get up that early..they do however workout late in the evening.
We returned home for Doug and Antonio to quickly change clothes and then stop at an account with the Bocellis on the way back down to a Luncheon at the Ritz.
I quickly showered and changed and off I went to meet everyone at The Ritz.  Travel and Leisure Magazine was in attendance as were some important key accounts.  The food was delicious and the wine better…and of course Antonio, Doug and the Bocellis were not only engaging, but captivating!  Everyone oooed and awed over the stories behind the wine and how we came to be the Importer for the family.  It was just a lovely day.
Here is the Mr. to gush about the concert…..
After the lunch I headed home for a quick rest while the misses and Cinzia had their nails done at the spa. She made it home by 4:30 and then we left at 5:10 headed back to the Ritz to pick up Alberto and Cinzia. We first dropped in at the 4 Seasons Hotel where a friend had arranged a closed off section in the restaurant for a pre show party. 20 minutes after we arrived, Alberto handed me his phone saying it was Veronica who is Andrea’s wife. It seems Mattea (the 15 year old who’s 6’5″) recently had something cut off his foot (minor surgery) and Veronica said she needed a doctor as the incision was changing and/or looking infected. She wanted me to get a doctor for a quick repair surgery at 7 this morning before they loaded in to their plane for Los Angles at 9:30. She of course said they’d delay the plane if needed as it’s their plane.
Anyhow as luck would have it, one of my guests was one of my doctors from my knee surgery in Vail so I told Veronica we’d cut short our pre show party and head right over to the arena. We pulled in through security to our backstage parking spot and went in the back and headed right over to Andrea’s dressing room. Heidi (my doctor from Vail) and I went straight to look at Mattea’s foot while Jag and Mom stood there listening and watching Andrea warm up for the show. After checking it out and calling her cousin (who’s a top dermatologist) we had him all fixed up. By this time our friend Pete (who’s the road manager) showed up with our backstage passes so the oldest and I walked around between all the hustle and bustle backstage including the Colorado Symphony and other people. It was filling up fast out front so I told him we needed to go out and find where our 20 guests were sitting. We found most people and said a quick hello before the show started. He liked being backstage and of course Alberto and Cinzia were treating him like one of their own children. Veronica tracked me down with her 1 year old in her arms to thanks me for bringing a doctor so quickly. As I said, it was just lucky Heidi came with us. She asked me if she could call me from Los Angeles if she had any issues and of course I said “of course”.
Everyone was wondering who this sharp dressed 11 year old with an “All Access” backstage pass was as they just don’t give those out except to the Artist (that’s how everyone refers to Andrea) and his family. He didn’t seem to grasp the importance of his pass, he just liked going anywhere he chose having everyone open any given door for him.
The show was simply amazing! You cannot put something like this into words, you just have to experience it. There was a 20 minute intermission half way through and at the end of the show, Andrea did 4 encores to standing screaming 40 year old plus (may much older) fans. It was like a geratric Beatles concert and the ovations were well deserved. He had some guest performers and one was this amazing violin player who was not only beautiful but played like you’ve never heard anyone play. The highlight for me was Canto Della Terra from Andrea. After the show I had arranged for a meet and greet with Andrea for my 20 some guests. I met Mark, the other road manager who I’ve also known for a number of years, and ushered our group backstage and had them all stand within a yellow square painted on the floor. We had to do this as right when the show is over as an army of workers begin tearing down the stage and loading it into trucks for a trip to Los Angeles for the Hollywood Bowl Show the day after tomorrow. Lori who stayed with Mark to say who was approved and bring up the rear of our group, then rushed up front to join us. Â (you wouldn’t believe the groupies that try to get backstage) Â We then brought in 4 people at a time to meet Andrea and took a quick photo with our camera of everyone. All the time Veronica had a watchful eye on everything with baby in arm. It took me about 12 minutes or so to rush everyone through and then we were headed home. We were going to run Alberto and Cinzia back to the Ritz when we discovered there was room in Andrea’s suburban so they went with him to save us the trip. We made it home by 10:30 and headed right to bed.
This morning Antonio and I left for the Ritz at 6am to get Alberto and Cinzia and head to the airport. We met up with the other guys at the Ritz who were also headed to various planes and the private jet for the short trip to L.A. I dropped them at 7 am and after hugs and kisses (Italians) and made it home by 7:45. Alberto and Cinzia are insisting our family comes and stays with them this fall. We’ll see, it’d be nice. They said all we need to do is get there.
So it was a great two days, we did lots of good business, everyone was happy and no one was really hurt. Now I have lots of work before next Wednesday when Aleks Simcic from Slovenia arrives and we head to Aspen. Tis the season for me having winemakers. It’s fun but don’t be fooled, it’s lots of work.
Here’s our sharp dressed man below with Andrea, Alberto and Cinzia. We have lots more pictures but here’s one!
Annette says:
WOW HOW COOL COOL COOL!