Once upon a time, a girl with moonlight in her eyes put her hand in mine and said she loved me so.

Tony Bennett, that girl would be me.

The time was Sept. 12, 1997, the night of the gala season opening for the Maine Center for the Arts in Orono. I sat there, third row balcony, awash in goose bumps, as Bennett enraptured the house – and me – in a voice resonating with everything from pure joy to complete loss then back again.

Before that night, I admired his work. After that night, I loved him.

Four years later, Bennett’s coming back to Maine.

On Wednesday, July 25, the 74-year-old singer will kick off a 23-city North American tour with k.d. lang at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. The series will end Sept. 29 with a performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Over the past decade, the nine-time Grammy winner has achieved what many performers crave, yet few achieve: A new generation of fans has embraced Bennett and his music. Many in the entertainment industry point to a seminal 1994 MTV “Unplugged” performance as the start of this new romance. It was there that Bennett and lang sang together for the first time, with “Moonglow” their duet of choice.

The resurrection of Bennett’s career began long before that performance. It wasn’t that Bennett made a comeback as much as he reached new heights in his music, taking his interpretation to a higher level of sophistication and a deeper degree of honesty.

Yes, honesty.

Letting the music – the standards of the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s – play, this crooner carried an audible torch as those words from Mercer, Porter, Gershwin and Berlin became his thoughts, his emotions.

In his autobiography, “The Good Life,” and mentioned in the liner notes of his 1999 album “Tony Bennett Sings Ellington Hot & Cool,” the artist described the ability of Frank Sinatra to enthrall an audience: “He communicated precisely what he was feeling at any moment. He knocked down the wall between performer and audience, inviting listeners into his mind.”

That’s what Bennett does. He is the song, be it the lament of a saloon song, the snap of a jazz tune or the despair of a blues ballad.

This range is reflected in his more recent albums, especially the flawless tributes to Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. In singing the songs of these legends from the past century, Bennett aims to continue their legacy in the pantheon of American music history.

His 1992 recordings of two dozen Sinatra torch and saloon songs show a different interpretation of familiar standards, such as “One for My Baby” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.” Sinatra once said that Bennett was his favorite singer and this unabashedly romantic album is Bennett’s thank-you.

1993 saw the release of “Steppin’ Out,” Bennett’s unlikely homage to a man better known as a dancer. But in just about every Fred Astaire movie, there’s also a charming song or two written to accompany those fleet feet. In fact, many Astaire movies introduced melodies that are now considered classics.

Bennett swings in “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” and keeps that Astaire flair tapping in everything from “Dancing in the Dark” to “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails.”

His “Tony Bennett on Holiday” album from 1997 is a soulful mix of heartache and love songs once recorded by Billie Holiday. It’s a bit of a roller-coaster ride, going from happiness to sorrow and back on songs such as “If I Could Be With You,” “Willow Weep for Me” and “Laughing at Life.”

The tone changes to jazz on Bennett’s 1999 album of Duke Ellington hits. It’s smooth, then snappy, then so cool it’s breathtaking. “Mood Indigo” glides on by with a plaintive horn rolling through the melody. The exotic rhythm of “Caravan” has the sweep of desert sands and the sway of a camel ride as it builds and then fades into a mirage. Then we’re drifting and dreaming in an “Azure” mood, a whisper of a song that’s made for starlight and romance – “an azure interlude.”

This fall will see the release of “Playing With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues.” The album will contain duets with lang, as well as Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Diana Krall and Sheryl Crow.

As much as I enjoy Bennett’s albums, nothing will ever compare to a live performance. It is the genuine test of a singer, especially when all the electronic gadgets and gizmos are gone, the orchestra is silent and the lights number a single spotlight.

Stand that performer on stage and hear the truth.

With Bennett four years ago, the truth made me weep at its beauty. As he sang “Solitude,” a song from his Holiday album, I was overcome at the power unleashed in his voice. I trembled at his conviction.

At the end of his performance, he sang sans microphone, forging a direct connection with every person in the room.

You went straight to my heart, Tony Bennett.

Tony Bennett and k.d. lang will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 25, at the Cumberland County Civic Center. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets (207-775-3331 or 207-775-3458), at the Cumberland County Civic Center box office, or online at www.sfx.com. Tickets are $65, $43.50 and $33.50. Other performances will be held in the Northeast, including the Molson Centre on Aug. 21 in Montreal, the Whittemore Center Arena on Aug. 29 in Durham, N.H., the Fleet Boston Pavilion on Aug. 30 in Boston, and the Oakdale Theatre on Aug. 31 in Wallingford, Conn.