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Date, venue change for Bocelli concert in Fresno

By Donald Munro / The Fresno Bee

Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 | 01:14 PM

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For more than a week, anxious Fresno Grand Opera season-ticket holders have been in limbo waiting for word on Andrea Bocelli's Dec. 10 concert at the Save Mart Center. Opera officials were tight-lipped about why tickets for the general public didn't go on sale Nov. 2 as scheduled.

On Tuesday, word came that Bocelli will still make Fresno one of the few U.S. cities he's visiting on tour in support of his new "My Christmas" CD. However, both the date and venue have been changed.

Bocelli will perform Dec. 8 at the Saroyan Theatre, a much smaller venue than the Save Mart Center.

"We would estimate that the demand would be very strong for those tickets," said Ronald D. Eichman, the opera's general director.

The other concerts on the tour are in arena-sized venues. The Fresno concert will be the smallest "by far," Eichman said.

Bocelli has sung with the Fresno Grand Opera twice before, in 2003 and 2005, and sold out the 12,000-seat Save Mart Center both times. The Saroyan seats about 2,300.

Season-ticket holders who already purchased tickets for the Save Mart Center show will automatically have their seats reassigned to the Saroyan. Tickets to the general public will go on sale Nov. 18. Eichman estimated that between 500 to 600 tickets will be available.

A scheduling conflict on Bocelli's part forced the date change. Then it turned out that a Fresno State basketball game was already scheduled at the Save Mart Center on Bocelli's new available date. That's when Bocelli's management agreed to lower the singer's fee to make the smaller venue financially feasible.


The reporter can be reached at dmunro@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6373. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com/author/donald_munro.

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