Review: Andrea Bocelli Delivers a Holiday Miracle in Miami

To absolutely no one’s surprise, Italian legend Andrea Bocelli delivered yet another masterpiece of a show to a sold-out Kaseya Center last night.

On the Sunday before Christmas, attendees got to witness the gift of a literal miracle: Bocelli, whose incredibly famous tenor voice superseded the singer’s visual impairment from his youth. 

As the packed house descended upon their seats for the show’s start — each person dressed to the nines for a makeshift holiday night at the opera — the orchestra, featuring talent from the Adrienne Arsht Center, took to their own seats onstage. From there, it wouldn’t be long before the conductor for the evening, Maestro Steven Mercurio, would take his place as the driver of the symphony — the choir opening with an Italian classic “Rigoletto: La donna e mobile.”

Soon emerged the voice of an angel, Bocelli, in a classic black tux, inspiring a wave of cheers from the audience, an audience that already knew what they were in for.  

The first act of the evening continued with a series of other familiar Italian opera and symphonic classics, with Bocelli wrapping the first act in a duet version of the whimsical masterpiece “Be Mine (Libiamo Ne’ Lietie Calici),” the screens behind the orchestra morphing into visuals of a palatial ballroom adorned with red carpets and crystal chandeliers.

Shortly after a 20-minute intermission began the second act, kicking off with gifted violinist Rusanda Panfili. She began with a beautiful arrangement emblematic of a night at sea, before quickly descending into the theme song of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” a fan favorite for the kids in the crowd.

It wouldn’t be long before Bocelli would make his anticipated return, swapping his black blazer for a white one, and with an instrument — the flute — in hand. Before he could seek out a tune on it, his accompaniment for the evening noted to the audience that the flute would be up for auction to support the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, which helps support education efforts for children living in the most vulnerable environments.

The rest of this act was a tour de force in talent — not just from Bocelli — but from pop guest Pia Toscano of American Idol fame, who sang a rendition of “All By Myself” that rivals that of her predecessor, Celine Dion. A pair of dancers accompanied Toscano and Bocelli as they descended into Italian duets — the incredible choir and production right there with them. Other highlights from the second act included Bocelli’s own version of “Ave Maria,” a quieter, magnificently crafted rendition of the song, with visuals of the famous opera singer walking through an Italian church alongside a young girl playing behind him; “Silent Night” (sung by Bocelli in French, no less); and an Italian rendition of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” all of which officially rang in the upcoming Christmas week.

Bocelli and his team teased the crowd towards the very end of the show, as he sang duets with each of his guests, they would all join hands and take a final bow, ushering him to the stairs where he would leave for good – before he came back again and again to delight in another aria.

But as we all watched with anticipation (“Will he sing it? Will he sing it?”), he eventually delivered, coming back — this time, solo — for perhaps one of his most famous covers, his cover of the Italian opera song “Nessun Dorma.” 

The maestro, after ushering Bocelli back to his spotlight, conducted his choir gracefully and triumphantly into the aria, the screens behind them turning into the Asian backdrop of Giacomo Puccini’s Turnadot, the opera from which the song hails.

It would seem as though the gates of heaven opened as soon as Bocelli sang the final “Vincerò!” – showing off by holding the final note of the song for what felt like at least a full 30 seconds (an eternity in real time). The evening’s orchestra was there, right alongside him, bringing the full drama “Nessun Dorma” often demands from those who dare to perform it.

In a gesture of complete and utter gratitude for gracing us with his otherworldly talents, the audience held a standing ovation that lasted at least five to seven minutes, as everyone felt they had witnessed the miracle that Bocelli is.

Thankfully, Miami has the ability to say it was Bocelli’s last stop for 2025, getting to spend the holiday weekend with the marvel of a singer. He is a gift to this world that everyone has to witness at least once in their lives, so if you missed him this year, not to worry – he makes his rounds to South Florida quite frequently, with his next show already coming to Hard Rock Live on February 12 of 2026.