Under the evocative title ‘Ciao, bella ciao’, Cecilia Bartoli sets off on a time-travelling adventure as sophisticated as it is joyful. Tunes from her childhood, canzoni from her youth and the musical milestones of a global career come together in a lavish, slightly over-the-top romp through 60 eventful years. What unfolds is less a straightforward life story than a cinematic, Fellini-esque dream — complete with a twinkle in the eye, pathos, irresistible charm and a sure instinct for the show-stopping moment. This is no run-of-the-mill retrospective, but a choreographed flow of sounds, images, gestures and memories — at times playful, at times tinged with nostalgia, and shot through with self-deprecating humour at every turn.
A show, then? A revue? Or simply what we’ve come to call, with a knowing grin, ‘quintessential Bartoli’: full of spirit and full of surprises.