Boy, do they dump on Andrea Bocelli. They treat Angela Gheorghiu with the utmost respect, by comparison. Whom do I mean by “they”? Professional singers and others in the music biz, who bristle at Mr. Bocelli. A few years ago, I was interviewing a famous opera singer, and, totally unprompted, she brought up Mr. Bocelli, with passion: “They are marketing him as an opera singer, and he is not an opera singer, whatever he is!”

Okay, so he’s not an opera singer (except in the literal sense that he is a singer and sometimes sings opera). So what is he? He is an Italian tenor with a beautiful voice, who can really float a high note, and who has won the hearts of masses the world over. He sells records like hotcakes — which has to grate, no matter how noble you are.

He appeared with the New York Philharmonic Wednesday night, in a program of Italian music. Wisely, he did not sing opera arias — at least on the printed program. Instead, he sang songs, or romances, of Verdi, orchestrated by Luciano Berio, the (largely) modernist composer who died in 2003. I should note that these are “adaptations” of Verdi songs, rather than simple orchestrations. You hear many touches of Berio himself, and, indeed, I was reminded of his completion of Puccini’s unfinished opera, “Turandot.”

As for the songs themselves, some are distinguished, some less so. Especially fun is to hear lines of Verdi’s operas in these comparatively modest numbers.

I have said that Mr. Bocelli has a beautiful voice, and he showed it to us on Wednesday night. But that voice is quite small, perhaps better suited to the recording studio than to Avery Fisher Hall (which is not an especially singerfriendly place anyway). He sang eight of the Verdi songs, four before intermission, four after. At the beginning, he seemed a bit tight, maybe nervous. But he got less so as the evening wore on.

It was wise of him not to push his voice, and the high C he sang in one song was there — thin, but there. The main problem was that there was too little character in these songs, too little variety in the expression of them. And there may have been too many of the songs on the program. You remember that TV program “Eight Is Enough”? In this case, eight might have been more than enough.

Mr. Bocelli sang a slew of encores, ending with the aria “Di quella pira,” from Verdi’s “Trovatore.” This was surprising, as this is one of the most powerhouse arias in the entire repertory — and Mr. Bocelli, whatever his virtues, is not a powerhouse tenor. “Di quella pira” was curiously faint. But Mr. Bocelli had his heart in it, and he wanted to sing it, so there you go.

By the way, would it be wrong of me to point out that Mr. Bocelli is blind? My statement is this: Singing and life are hard enough, without this handicap. There is an element of bravery in Mr. Bocelli’s career.

Coming in to lead the Philharmonic was Asher Fisch, the Israeli conductor who has had a busy career in opera. Like many musicians, and many people, he is uneven, sometimes conducting marvelously, sometimes conducting mediocrely (to invent a helpful adverb). One night, he conducted so well, I wrote that Avery Fisher Hall had become Asher Fisch Hall.

He was good enough Wednesday night. The program began with the Overture to Verdi’s “Forza del Destino,” and Mr. Fisch made it fairly rigorous. But the slow sections were dangerously slow. Put it this way: Singers in this opera, dealing with the same melodies, would have had trouble. But then, they weren’t present, were they?

It was interesting that, in the very first piece of this new season, the Philharmonic’s new oboist, Liang Wang, was called on to show what he can do. The oboe is very prominent in the “Forza” overture. And Mr. Wang did well. Whether he is any better than the oboist who sat in the principal’s chair last season, Sherry Sylar, I rather doubt. (Ms. Sylar is associate principal.)

A subsequent orchestral piece on the program was Puccini’s Preludio Sinfonico, which the composer wrote when he was quite young. Here, too, Mr. Wang did some fine “singing.” But, overall, the orchestra was strangely heavy. Puccini’s dreamy little piece sounded like “The 1812 Overture” at times. It needed to be less strong, more melting. And the brass section committed some very, very shaky onsets.

Still later we had two other dreamy, fabulous little pieces: the Prelude to Act III of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut”and the “Intermezzo” from Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana.” Some loveliness was detectable, as well as the necessary strength. And Mr. Fisch knows how to breathe. But, again, these pieces were strangely big — loud, heavy, imposing. You must never play these pieces prissily, but some dearness is in order.

A final note: The Philharmonic’s official opening night of the 2006–07 season is next Wednesday, when music director Lorin Maazel will be on the podium. This week’s concerts are kind of …a free-floating event. Perhaps Andrea Bocelli was deemed too down-market for a proper opening?