Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico

Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico
Live album & Concert film by
Yanni
ReleasedApril 17, 2012
RecordedDecember 16–17, 2011
VenueCastillo San Felipe del Morro
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
GenreContemporary instrumental
Easy listening
Length49:59 (CD)
61:07 (DVD)
LabelYanni/Wake Entertainment under exclusive license to Sony Music Entertainment
ProducerYanni
Ric Wake
Yanni chronology
Truth of Touch
(2011) 		Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico
(2012) 		Playlist: The Very Best of Yanni
(2013)
Yanni: Live at El Morro
Special concert by Yanni
VenueCastillo San Felipe del Morro
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Date(s)December 16–17, 2011
No. of shows2
Attendance7,500 per show
15,000 total
Box office$1.5 million
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico is the fourth live album by Yanni, released on the Yanni/Wake label in 2012. The two concerts were performed outdoors on the grounds of El Morro castle in San Juan, Puerto Rico in December 2011.

The CD peaked at #1 on Billboard's New Age Album list in both 2012 and 2013.

Background

Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico was recorded and filmed during two sold-out concerts performed outdoors on December 16 and 17, 2011, on the grounds of the Castillo San Felipe del Morro ("El Morro"), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Old San Juan.[2][3] Yanni had reportedly planned for twenty years to perform at the historic site.[2]

Yanni explained that two concerts were planned, for Friday and Saturday night, with the ensuing Sunday being a contingent rain day.[4] It reportedly rained for 25 days in a row preceding the first night's concert on Friday,[4] and the first concert itself was interrupted and eventually cut short three-quarters of the way through, by rain and wind causing danger for the outdoor performance.[2][5]

The evening of the second show, Saturday, the weather was better and the show was completed as planned.[2][5] Yanni said that 35 cameras, and three live camera operators, were able to capture the show.[4] Departing the island on Sunday, the planned rain day, Yanni noted that it was raining and he could not have carried out a make-up concert then.[4]

Yanni later remarked that "the weather became part of the show,"[2] but that it was the first time in his thirty-year career that a concert had been stopped.[4] To individuals affected by the Friday evening concert that was cut short, the concert's production, José Dueño Entertainment, offered rain checks on tickets towards the next Yanni concert in Puerto Rico or any other José Dueño Entertainment production, and a certificate valid towards receiving the concert DVD.[6]

The concerts involved sale of over 10,000 tickets, and cost $3 million to put on.[7]

The concerts were the subject of special broadcasts on PBS beginning in March 2012,[8] the video having been recorded in high definition.[2] The production was Yanni's tenth collaboration with PBS.[2]

The Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico CD peaked as Billboard's #1 New Age Album (2012 and 2013),[9] at #109 on the Billboard 200 (2012),[9] and debuted at #52 on the Canadian Albums Chart.[10]

Album track listing

CD:[11][12]

No.TitleLength
1."Truth of Touch"4:23
2."Vertigo"4:21
3."The End of August"5:07
4."The Rain Must Fall"8:11
5."Felitsa"4:43
6."Voyage"4:13
7."Nightingale" (featuring vocals by Lauren Jelencovich)5:17
8."Ode to Humanity" (featuring vocals by Lauren Jelencovich and Lisa Lavie)4:05
9."Niki Nana" (featuring vocals by Lisa Lavie and Lauren Jelencovich)7:49
10."One Man's Dream"3:09

DVD track listing

Video DVD:[11][12]

No.TitleLength
1."Truth of Touch"4:31
2."Vertigo"5:33
3."The End of August"5:13
4."The Rain Must Fall"8:34
5."Felitsa"4:45
6."Voyage"4:52
7."Nightingale" (featuring vocals by Lauren Jelencovich)5:51
8."Harp Solo" (featuring Victor Espinola)2:40
9."Ode to Humanity" (featuring vocals by Lauren Jelencovich and Lisa Lavie)4:33
10."Niki Nana" (featuring vocals by Lisa Lavie and Lauren Jelencovich)8:50
11."One Man's Dream"3:23

DVD Extras:

  • Yanni in Puerto Rico
  • Making of the Show

Musicians and vocalists

The grounds of El Morro, looking north. Yanni's concerts took place on a temporarily erected stage and grandstands, erected the month after this photo was taken, on the grass area overlooking the western cliffs on the left. The main structure of the fort is atop the hill.

Musicians: (alphabetically)[12]

Vocalists: (alphabetically)[12]

References

  1. ^ AllMusic
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Yanni: Live At El Morro" (archive), KPBS, June 4, 2012.
  3. ^ "Yanni to play at CMAC in June" (archive), Finger Lakes Times, December 12, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e Moser, John L. (interviewer), "Yanni speaks: World music icon talks about influences, the foibles of fame, and his future" (archive), The Morning Call's "Lehigh Valley Music," June 22, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Scully, Alan, "New Age artist has surprises in store" (archive), The Virginian-Pilot on HamptonRoads.com, June 5, 2012.
  6. ^ "Nueva oportunidad para ver a Yanni" (New opportunity to see Yanni) (archive), El Nuevo Día, January 25, 2012.
  7. ^ "Ventas millonarias para conciertos de Yanni en El Morro" (Million-selling Yanni concert at El Morro) (archive), PrimeraHora, December 16, 2011.
  8. ^ "PBS Specials | Yanni: Live at El Morro | Preview" (archive), "Airing March 2012," pbs.org. ● Kaczmarczyk, Jeffrey, "Yanni, well-traveled New Age artist, ...'" (archive), MLive (Michigan), Booth Newspapers, May 1, 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Yanni / Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico", Allmusic "awards" tab
  10. ^ Nielsen SoundScan Charts / ALBUMS : Top 100 / for the week ending 27 June 2012"[usurped] (archive[usurped]), Nielsen SoundScan on canoe.ca.
  11. ^ a b "Yanni: Live in el Morro Puerto Rico (CD/DVD)", Allmusic "overview" tab, (archive).
  12. ^ a b c d CD/DVD digipack liner credits, SKU 886919528527. ● Also "Yanni Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico | Credits" (archive), Allmusic, AMG PopID R2422046, release date March 27, 2012.

Further reading

  • Scully, Alan, "Yanni: Show goes on and on" (archive), The Bakersfield Californian, July 11, 2012.
  • Olsen, John P., "Concert Review: Yanni-Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico" (archive), New Age Music World, April 12, 2012.

External links

  • Official Website
  • Live at El Morro, Puerto Rico at AllMusic
  • YouTube video "All Access: Yanni on Tour - San Juan, Puerto Rico (Part 1)" (posted July 4, 2012)
  • U.S. National Park Service's website "The Gibraltar of the Caribbean" for San Juan National Historic Site which includes Castillo San Felipe del Morro
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