Live Review: Matteo Bocelli Soars in Australia 2026
26 April 2026 at Perth Riverside Theatre
Review by Sheldon Ang
Photography by Sheldon Ang Photography
There’s no getting around it: the name Bocelli is synonymous with vocal supremacy, thanks to the spell cast by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, ranked with the greats alongside Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras. We can pretend there’s a disconnect between Matteo and Andrea Bocelli, but that would be a disservice, given that the 28-year-old proudly referenced his father on a few occasions last night at the Perth Riverside Theatre in Western Australia.
Andrea and Matteo are distinct performers – vocally, stylistically, and emotionally. Each is world-class in his own right, and this show makes that distinction clear.
The Falling In Love World Tour plays like a coming-of-age run for the young Padawan, taking the 28-year-old across Latin America, Australia, North America and Europe. It also drags Matteo out from under the tag “Andrea Bocelli’s son” and plants him where he belongs: a world class solo artist in full flight. The set draws from the new album Falling In Love, dips into fan favourites from his self-titled record, and lands a handful of classic covers, powered by a tight four-piece band that gives the night its eclectic pulse.
So at 8 pm, the theatre lights dipped. Keys, lead guitar, bass and percussion settled into place, followed by Matteo Bocelli’s arrival with the default reception. And as expected, there were plenty of Italian Australians in the house.
He set the tone with “Love Like This”, a fast, pop-leaning cut from the new album, smooth, expressive and contemporary. From there, “Naïve” kept the momentum, an Italian pop number with a bright edge. We heard more from the new album, including “Glimpse of Happiness”, an airy, almost summery track. It would bloom even bigger with a church choir behind it; that’s the atmosphere it breathes. It was an opening that spelled out his direction of his latest album, with a unique twist.
If fans came purely for the Bocelli name and listening to him for the first time, they might be surprised with the vibe, which was slick enough for contemporary pop concert – so far. The guitars scintillated, the keys shimmered, and the drums locked into a steady heartbeat groove. Overhead, lights washed the canopy of heads, sharpening the night’s cinematic glow. It was a fast start.
But the brakes were applied for the crooners with Elvis’ “I Can’t Help Falling in Love”. No one tops the king for sheer emotional pull, but Matteo is not a karaoke performer; he weaved and reshaped the wedding-song classic into a smooth, modern slow-burn, driven by warm tenor and film-score phrasing. The contemporary undercurrent leans on youth, yet the romanticism still lingers like candlelight before an altar.
It wasn’t too long before the pace went up a notch again.
“Do you want to dance?”
A quick pivot brought the fun: “Quando Quando Quando”, the 1962 Tony Renis number that has since been covered by countless artists. In Matteo’s hands, it loosened the theatre into a dancefloor Italian style.
He stepped off the stage to meet the crowd. One fan kissed Bocelli’s hand, like straight out of a fairytale, before he moved to the centre, where another highjacked him for a dance. By then, a queue had formed among a bevy of ladies leaning in for their moment. That was fun. But there was only so much he could take in for three minutes.
It wasn’t until “Amnesia D’Amore” that the old-school Bocelli signature truly rose. A sweeping Italian crossover ballad, it finds Matteo unravelling in the absence of someone he loves. The theme is contextually fitting, given how fearlessly he lets go in those tenor lines. He sang with palpable desperation, and the Italian phrasing pulled the song toward the operatic realm we’ve come to know with the Bocelli name.
For this photojournalist, that’s Matteo’s sweet spot: romantic and melodic, emotionally vulnerable, a heart-forward, gentle ballad with the genetic trace of that old-school Bocelli tenor.
“Loving You” doubled down on that sweet spot, a poetic love ballad lit with a cinematic glow. The lyrics’ imagery snapped into focus through another standout performance, with his English storytelling threading cleanly into Italian and the Bocelli romanticism.
Keeping pace with the night’s best moments was the same trail of poetic romance and balladry: “Anime Imperfette” (Imperfect Souls), delivered with a warm, smooth tenor. That familiar Bocelli imprint continued, tender, classic, unmistakable. The room melted into the voice, and the phrasing made it one of this photojournalist’s favourite moments of the night.
It has been an eclectic night thus far, pop and operatic crossover. But he said, “I don’t like to be part of a specific genre.” He proved it moments later when the set swerved into rock-pop territory as the guitarist went on a solo journey, tearing through “If I Can Have You”, needling the drummer as it went.
And for those who have been following Matteo’s journey, the seminal piece had arrived: “Fall on Me”, the song in which father and son famously duet together. Matteo’s solo turns it inward, spotlighting his own artistic identity: smooth, warm, modern. Without Andrea’s operatic resonance, Matteo fills the space with a contemporary romantic tone. We were expecting the recorded voice of Andrea for his part, but this is all Matteo’s show.
With that confession still hanging in the air, the show pivoted, softening its grip, then drawing the audience closer for one last intimate stretch.
The encore saw Matteo and the music director seated at the front with acoustic guitars, opening with “Perfect Symphony”. First recorded by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli in English and Italian, it landed as a relatable moment for the younger members of the audience. It was a love ballad of the ages, a personification that says love is a universal language, thanks to the on-point vocals of Matteo, sung in two languages with a heartfelt, gentle delivery. It was another five star moment, another one of those sweet spots.
From there came “Angel in Disguise” still on acoustic, before the show closed with “Caruso”. For most, it was the performance of the night, preserving the emotional heartbeat of Lucio Dalla’s classic. Matteo honoured the spirit of the song, then let the final note hang, echoing this venue with those soaring Bocelli notes. It was a masterpiece delivered through a masterclass performance. It was the Bocelli magic that many had came for.
After that pivotal performance, the bigger picture came into focus: what this show proves isn’t that Matteo can sustain a legacy, but that he can translate into his own spectacular…
…which is why the two shouldn’t be compared too closely: they’re fundamentally different singers. Andrea’s voice runs on operatic power – a classical tenor archetype built on emotional storytelling. Matteo, on the other hand, is a modern crossover, smoother, more contemporary pop with youthful, global appeal.
Following Perth, Matteo Bocelli will be touring Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Tickets are available from TEG Van Egmond
Sheldon Ang Media would like to thank Dianna O’Neill Publicity, TEG Van Egmond and Matteo Bocelli for the Photo Accreditation and Tickets.
Setlist Perth 2026
Love Like This — Falling in Love (2025)
Naive — Falling in Love (2025)
Dimmi — Single (2024, inferred from release timeline)
Glimpse of Happiness — Falling in Love (2025)
(Can’t Help) Falling in Love — Cover (original 1961; Matteo live version unreleased)
Quando Quando Quando — Cover (original 1962; Matteo live version unreleased)
Tempo — Matteo (2023)
Amnesia d’Amore — Falling in Love (2025)
Loving You — Falling in Love (2025)
Falling in Love — Falling in Love (2025)
La Mia Storia Tra Le Dita — Single (2025)
Anime Imperfette — Falling in Love (2025)
Honesty — Matteo (2023)
Fall On Me — Single (2018)
If I Can’t Have You — Falling in Love (2025)
Encore-
Perfect Symphony — Single (live duet version; original Andrea Bocelli 2017) –
Angel in Disguise — Single (2024, inferred from collaboration timeline) –
Caruso — Cover (original 1986; Matteo live version unreleased)
About the writer/photographer: The founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to more than 250 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AD/DC, Metallica, KISS, RHCP, P!NK and Suzi Quatro (pictured) with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, Roxette, Tina Arena, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Tina Arena on social media. He has interviewed the late Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist
