Eminently fair write-up, Steve, of an evening that might be difficult to parse. And the optimist in me says, if Bocelli turns some people on to classical music, perhaps they will find versions of these same works, sung more memorably by others.
And love this line: The third, attributed to Caccini but actually composed by Vladimir Vavilov, a Russian guitarist, sounded as if a third-tier Hollywood composer had been instructed by a movie director to “give me something Italian, like that Rachmaninoff guy.”

I laughed at that line, too, and I like the tone of the whole thing. I can’t say I’m sorry I missed it, but I’m pleased to have read about it.