ORLANDO, Fla. — It’s certainly a different experience to listen to opera in Orlando’s 17,000-seat Kia Center, as was evidenced by Andrea Bocelli’s concert there Thursday night.

The Italian tenor delighted fans with a generous hour and 45 minutes of music in a show that resembled two concerts in one evening. First, an operatic one, then a more eclectic classical-crossover pop set. The show was presented by the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts — which doesn’t have a venue large enough to hold the number of fans Bocelli draws.

By necessity, of course in a space as large as the Kia Center, everything has to be amped up. And to be fair, Bocelli’s voice is up to the task. His tenor still cuts through the music, and he still holds notes longer than you think would be possible at his age of 67 — or any age, really.

But there’s a price to pay when you have to stage a show where every note reaches the uppermost row: A lack of musical subtlety for one, and a feeling that some of the arrangements have become formulaic. Another danger: When you combine a soloist, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Opera Orlando Chorus in a sound mixer, sometimes what comes out is loud and muddy.

As the evening progressed, the sound mix seemed to improve. Certain instruments — the harp, a flute, the tambourine — were even able to be heard individually among the wave of sound.

Unlike his last visit to Central Florida in 2021, this time Bocelli didn’t do any talking — not a word to the audience. But just like last time, he brought a whole lot of guest artists with him, including soprano Larisa Martinez, baritone Edward Parks, violinist Caroline Campbell, and dancers Brittany O’Connor and Uros Markovic. The late Luciano Pavarotti even makes a video appearance to re-create his duet with Bocelli, “Notte ‘e piscatore.”

Martinez and Parks were invaluable in the first half of the show, which featured all opera numbers. Martinez sparkled on “Je veux vivre,” capturing the youth of Juliet, while Parks gave a riproaring “Votre Toast (The Toreador Song)” from “Carmen,” assisted by lusty vocals from the Opera Orlando Chorus. Bocelli had gotten things off to a great start with a clear and ringing “La donna è mobile.”

But when they sang together — in duets or as a trio — the magic intensified. For three powerful voices, all of them know how to blend smoothly with one another. Particularly exhilarating: The three expressively singing “Non m’inganno … Ella scende” from “Il trovatore.”

It’s interesting to hear an aria just for the music itself — no context of the story, no props or costumes, no supertitles so if you don’t remember what opera a certain piece is from you’re really just focusing on the notes.

Conductor Steven Mercurio led the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra with style and when the sound mix cooperated created musical peaks and valleys.

The second act was more of an eclectic mix: Campbell fronting a fired-up “Danse Macabre,” the dancers performing to “Tango Jalousie,” Martinez belting the poppy “Rise Up” as the floor rumbled from the bass.

Things were on more solid ground with the solid trio of encores: A full-throated “O Sole Mio,” the ever-popular duet “Con te partirò,” and just when you thought Bocelli couldn’t have another note in him, he pulled out a triumphant “Nessun dorma,” which also gave the Orlando Opera Chorus a chance to shine once more.

I know it’s comparing apples to oranges, but I prefer hearing this sort of music in say, Steinmetz Hall, where the difference between a whisper of a note and a ringing call to action creates emotional thrills. But if you’re going to go all fortissississimo (that’s four F’s for loudness), no one can handle it with more skill than Bocelli.

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