Trump’s favorite tenor secured another Saudi-backed gig, this time in Rome. Andrea Bocelli, who serenaded the president in the Oval Office last October and performed a private White House concert in December, appeared alongside the Saudi National Orchestra and Choir last Friday at the Temple of Venus and Roma in the Italian capital, in a concert hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Culture.
The evening brought together 32 Saudi musicians and 30 members of a local youth orchestra, and included a commission called “Al-Hijr and Rome,” exploring centuries of cultural exchange between Saudi Arabia and Italy. Bocelli has performed in the kingdom on numerous occasions, including several times in AlUla’s Maraya concert hall.