"Welcome to the National Basilica of Koekelberg". That's how we're greeted in that grandiose structure – "the largest art deco monument in the world"! – for an admittedly exceptional concert by Roberto Alagna. During his brief Belgian concert series, he had been heard the day before at another iconic location, the Abbey of Villers-la-Ville. The Frenchman with Sicilian roots is now 63. But his name and fame are far from faded. And that's also evident from the many fans who showed up. Not a packed church, but enough people to immediately bring momentum with thunderous applause as the orchestra quickly sets the tone and the star dancingly takes the stage. Everyone ready for a recital full of Sicilian and Neapolitan songs. The show is called "Boulevard des Italiens". The audience may have expected a series of opera arias, but it was worth the effort. The style and repertoire have apparently been adapted since his glory days. The tenor was given free rein over the content of his concert. It was plenty of popular canzoni that we heard. But that apparently wasn't a problem in making the fans enthusiastic. Incidentally, there was no information to be found about a setlist or program notes. Too bad. But sing-alongs in abundance: Santa Lucia, Sole Mio, Caruso, Bambino, Sicilian tarantellas, sung and orchestrated themes from The Godfather and snippets of film music by Ennio Morricone. Yet there was a blemish on this performance: the sound amplification!
Of course, the acoustics in such an enormous volume are not ideal, with a reverberation of 8 seconds I read somewhere. So difficult that you sometimes got the impression that the singer and the Golden Pick Orchestra conducted by José Pick sounded out of time. Actually an affront to what you should hear at a concert. How can you then judge the quality of his current mastery? He didn't always sound at his best and not always at his purest, but always vocally powerful enough to convince the many supporters. But he's still a showman. And with a Funiculi-funiculà everyone sang along clapping their hands and the same of course with that popular Italian protest song Bella ciao. An hour and a half of Roberto Alagna was for many an inspiring emotional spectacle, but should really be experienced in better acoustic conditions.