Heaven on Earth

Simply sublime. That’s how it felt at the Governors Ball when a surprise musical performance by Andrea Bocelli and David Foster combined with sumptuous surroundings to create a truly transcendent experience.

“Nothing has ever stopped people in their tracks the way this did,” says Cheryl Cecchetto, the event producer, who received a barrage of emails from Academy members extolling the evening’s wow factor. “You never know how it’s going to work when you bring in such high-profile performers to a highly energized industry event where people are coming and going. But the emotional impact on the guests was just extraordinary.”

On a revolving set haloed from above in drapes of Swarovski crystal beads, Bocelli, the internationally renowned tenor, and Foster, his frequent producer and collaborator, opened with “Maria” from West Side Story. For their next number, “Be My Love,” from a forthcoming album, they were joined by dancers Maks Chmerkovskiy (ABC’s Dancing with the Stars) and Jacque LeWarne (Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance). Bocelli closed with the soaring “Con Te Partiro” (“Time to Say Goodbye”).

The appearance of the musical giants had been secured just two days before, with the assistance of Warner Bros. Television’s Geriann McIntosh, cochair of the Television Academy’s Governors Ball committee with Barbara Cassel.

When the 15-minute performance began, some 2,500 of the evening’s 4,000 guests surged around the circular stage in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. There they stood, transfixed and transported, reports Cecchetto, producer of the event for the past 18 years. Many tried to capture the rapture on their phones.

“The room was just spectacular — so elegant and romantic, done in white and creams and golds,” Cecchetto says. “Combined with the lyrical effect of the lighting and the revolving performance area, it created a feeling of heaven on earth.  The emotional impact was just extraordinary.

“Many people have told me that of the balls they’ve been to, it was by far their favorite.  I have to say, I can’t imagine where we would go from here.”