by Renate

...So did I and began to dream of "my" new concert.

For this I had to wait almost a month until August 16th, when he returned to the so-called "Ruhrgebiet," an industrial zone of Germany, where you also can find some lovely little castles. This time finally the weather showed how nice summer also can be in Germany. About 11,000 people gathered on the meadow behind Schloss Borbeck in Essen, enjoying the evening sun and a glass of champagne. Unfortunately those on the folding chairs in the last rows had no chance to see the stage at all.

This time my husband and I refused right from the beginning to sit there and claimed a better place on the side. From here I could enjoy, not Andrea's face, his smile, his "eyebrow-dance"... to perceive this, I was to far away, even when using binoculars...but the unforgettable sight of the whole stage with the huge trees behind it. All was colored by the magic light of the changing spotlights: violet illuminated trees swinging in the mild summer breeze to Andrea's incomparable "Che gelida Manina". Tears of joy filled my eyes hearing that and looking up to the huge full moon, which seemed to stop and stay just right above the stage to listen. Andrea was at his best, the orchestra "Il Novecento" was conducted by Andrea's friend Carlo Bernini this time, and the soprano Stefania Donzelli gave a "Mi chiamano Mimi" I won't forget my lifetime.



All in all this concert's atmosphere was far beyond belief. People left silently after the usual "Time to Say Goodbye" encore, touched almost as if they were leaving a church, as if they were soaring two feet above the ground. Earth had lost its gravity.