Misled and Disrespected: My Torri Keys Celebration Deception

Dear director, I would like to explain to you, to your newspaper, and especially to the residents of Torri, what really happened on the evening of July 28, 2000.

That day, I arrived in Verona in the afternoon to do an extended live interview with Match Music. Around 7:00 PM, I received a phone call from the office of the agency that manages and organizes my concerts, informing me that at 7:30 PM, the Municipal Administration, represented by the mayor, wanted to celebrate my thirty years of activity by giving me the keys to the city of Torri.

This honor pleased me, but at the same time, I was annoyed that I had not been notified earlier, which prevented me from being on site before 8:00 PM. When I arrived in Torri at 8:15 PM, the person responsible at my agency informed me that the mayor would give me the keys either at the beginning or the end of the concert, which I was scheduled to hold that same evening in Albisano.

I was taken to a restaurant where I began to dine peacefully. At 9:15 PM, the same agency representative called my secretary’s portable phone, saying that before 9:30 PM, when the concert was supposed to start, the mayor would be happy to give me the keys to the city of Torri at an unspecified location. They also said they had to invent (to save the reputation of his agency) that my car had broken down, so it would be better to leave from the back of the restaurant to avoid drawing attention.

Upon leaving, I saw for the first time my poster hanging at the restaurant counter, clearly stating that the citizens of Torri were invited to the square for a celebration and to deliver the keys to me at 7:30 PM. At this point, I began to get very upset.

Only upon arriving at the site did I discover it was a genuine celebration, complete with a stage set up for the occasion and a large audience waiting affectionately for me since 7:30 PM. I stepped onto the stage with great embarrassment, trying to explain what had happened, realizing I had been duped by my agency—not only regarding myself but especially concerning the citizens.

My anger (not towards some of the citizens protesting against me, but against those responsible for all this) became uncontrollable, and I left the stage. This is the exact account of what truly happened.

Dear director, I have never reacted this way before; it is not in my nature. I apologize to everyone and hope you can understand.