Elton John to rock ancient Roman theatre

Performance part of world tour for ‘Wonderful Crazy Night’

Music icon Elton John will perform in an ancient Roman theatre in Pompeii in July as part of a world tour to showcase his new album Wonderful Crazy Night, Reuters quoted his Italian promoter as saying.

The concert has yet to be listed on the 68-year-old entertainer’s official website but is advertised online by D’Alessandro e Galli. “Elton John in the most evocative setting, July 12, Pompeii,” the promoter’s website says.

Pompeii was covered in hot ash after the Vesuvius volcano erupted in 79 CE. The ancient city is one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations, visited by millions every year.

It is still not clear whether Elton John will perform in what is called the Large Theatre, which has a capacity of 1,400, or in The Amphitheatre made famous by Pink Floyd in their 1972 film, Live at Pompeii, a spokesperson for the archaeological site said. The Large Theatre, where Pompeii’s citizens once watched comedies and tragedies, has hosted ballet and classical music performances for the past two years.



The Amphitheatre, where gladiators once fought, pre-dates the larger and better-known Colosseum in Rome by more than a century. The stone stadium can probably hold no more than 2,000, said another Pompeii spokesperson.

Pink Floyd performed without an audience in The Amphitheatre over four days in 1971.

Separately, John mentioned he has no plans of leaving his fortune behind for his two sons, Zachary and Elijah, reported Today. Stating the children will have to earn their own extravagant inspirations one day, he shared, “Of course I want to leave my boys in a very sound financial state. But it’s terrible to give kids a silver spoon. It ruins their life and spoils them rotten. I don’t want that.”

He added, “The boys live the most incredible lives ... they’re not normal kids and I’m not pretending they are. But you have to have some semblance of normality, some respect for money and some respect for work. I want them to fight their own battles and become famous.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6^th, 2016.

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