Last night’s show was also, as the program’s title suggests, a coda for the singer at the end of a seven-decade career that began across the East River, where a teenage Anthony Benedetto worked as a singing waiter in his native Astoria before his smooth tenor won over fans across geography and generations. This week’s shows marked the first time Bennett, who turned 95 on August 3, performed in public since his family revealed his Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis in February. “One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga” was as much a festive homecoming as it was a poignant farewell. The vast majority of those present for Bennett’s final performance at Radio City Music Hall understood the assignment: We were here to watch a beloved New York icon say good-bye to the stage, with his decorated protégé giving him a proper send-off. When the curtain rose an hour later to reveal Bennett for the first time, standing by the piano with his arms outstretched in elated greeting, they stood - clapping and waving, this time as if facing an old friend for the first time in years - until he picked up his microphone and began to sing. When Gaga made her entrance just after 9 p.m., in a sparkling white ball gown, and struck a pose, the crowd - which included Hillary and Bill Clinton, who received a shout-out from the mistress of ceremonies - leapt to their feet and cheered. Many dressed for the occasion in ball gowns, tuxedos, and gemstone-drenched smoking jackets masks were sparse (though attendees were required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter the venue), but there were even a few rhinestone-studded face coverings spotted in Radio City’s teeming lobby beforehand. It was the second and final performance of “ One Last Time: An Evening With Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga,” and the sold-out audience had come to pay their respects - and in their sequined, bedazzled best. Though unused for the past 18 months, Radio City Music Hall’s 6,105 red velvet chairs will likely need a tune-up by the end of this week thanks to Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, and the 27 standing ovations the pair received during their miraculous, magnificent concert there on Thursday night (August 5).
Photo: Marco Piraccini/Archivio Marco Piraccini/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images
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