ANDREA BOCELLI At last, a legend At last, a legend for the new millennium. A myth in the Homeric sense, “story delivered by word of mouth”, which blossomed through singing, just like Caruso, Gigli, Del Monaco, Corelli… A legend of Andrea Bocelli’s caliber cannot be artificially designed: not even the most astute marketing plan would be able to come up with such a result. People simply recognize his talent and choose him. This is what happened, in an apparently well-matched but perfect context, the Italian singing competition Sanremo in 1994, because the childhood of a legend follows a course that breaks tradition. Since then, the tone of his voice has brought gentleness to the world and his fame has increased exponentially. “If God could sing, He would sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli”: even Celine Dion’s famous comment is a clear, unadorned testament to the artist’s legendary status, as well as the perception of a God given gift. That voice, that melancholic and at the same time radiant tone, unrivalled in interpreting the love song of a lover or a father, a matchless expression of earthly desire or heavenly love. We are about to celebrate the first twenty years of his career, supported by the sale of 80 million records. With talent comes responsibility “I don’t think one decides to become a singer, it is decided for you by the reactions of the people around you”. Andrea Bocelli has had to come to terms with having two all-encompassing gifts. The first is a specific timbre, which has become his signature, full and powerful, versatile to the point that he can range from the belcanto to the furor of verismo, from the sacred repertoire to the popular ballads. The second is more intimate: life led Andrea Bocelli to developing a different ability when he lost his eyesight during adolescence. This privation amplified his extraordinary and unique sensitivity, which transcends all boundaries, causing him to excel in his interpretation of lyrics and in his perception of the subtleties of musical expression. The power of an unusual journey Bocelli, the superb lyric voice that opera had been awaiting for years, “exploded” onto the world stage performing one song. An unusual route offering extraordinary possibilities: a real breath of fresh air in a world –the opera world – that is in danger of forgetting its own popular origins. It rang out in every corner of the world in “Time to say goodbye”, while on stage it resonated in the operatic masterpieces: a voice which combines the power of the heroic tone with a youthful tenor’s grace, strengthened by an unusually polished timbre. Old-fashioned training of a modern tenor A Tuscan, like Puccini and Mascagni, Andrea Bocelli was born on 22nd September 1958 at the family farm in Lajatico, amongst the vineyards of the Pisan countryside. His parents must be given credit for having encouraged young Andrea’s musical talent, allowing him to start studying the piano from the age of only six years old. Later his musical passion extended to the flute and the saxophone, but it was in his voice that Andrea discovered the ideal instrument. This was the beginning of a formative process which would produce Bocelli, the star, “a modern but old fashioned tenor” (as he likes to describe himself). In 1970 he enjoyed his first success in a singing competition: performing “O sole mio”. After studying singing with Maestro Luciano Bettarini, Bocelli approached Franco Corelli, an artist whom he had always worshipped. In order to pay for singing lessons, Andrea played the piano in the local bars and in the meantime he continued to develop his interest in humanities and graduated in Law at the University of Pisa. In the same period that saw his launch in the world of pop, having been discovered by Caterina Caselli and signed to her record label Sugar, Andrea had an opportunity to make his debut on the operatic stage, in 1994 in Verdi’s Macbeth (in the role of Macduff) directed by Claudio Desderi. That Christmas he was invited to sing the Adeste Fideles in St Peter’s before the Pope. No more courtrooms or requests in piano bars: this was the start of a meteoric rise. Andrea Bocelli had found the stage, or rather, the stage had found Andrea Bocelli and would never leave him. Con te partirò There is something miraculous about the parallel track, along which Andrea Bocelli’s career developed. In 1996 “Con te Partirò” (and later its arrangement as a duet with Sarah Brightman with the title “Time to say Goodbye”) was heard in every corner of the world. The Bocelli phenomenon was talked about everywhere: an artist whose explosion into the recording world – with an album entitled Romanza – was breaking all records. In Germany, for example, the duet became the best selling single of all time. At the same time, Andrea embarked on his operatic adventure, carefully managing of his voice. In Torre del Lago, in the summer of 1997, Bocelli performed parts of Madame Butterfly and Tosca, and also the “aria dei 9 do” from La fille du regiment, which received a standing ovation. In 1998 came a new debut, this time playing Rodolfo - alongside Daniela Dessi - in Puccini’s La Bohème in Cagliari. That same year he met Maestro Zubin Mehta and this led to the beginning of their successful collaboration. 1999 was a very intense year. Andrea performed at the Arena in Verona for the first time, where he was applauded by an audience of eighteen thousand. In October, he made his debut in the United States in Massenet’s Werther. At the same time, his album Sogno was released, which included Andrea’s duet with Céline Dion of “The Prayer”, which had already won the Golden Globe Award and was subsequently nominated for an Oscar. From here on, the Bocelli legend, supported by huge record sales, was unstoppable. His concerts would find the most celebrated directors on the podium such as Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Valeri Gergev, Zubin Mehta and Myun Whun Chung. In January 2001, Andrea made his debut on stage in Verona in Mascagni’s Amico Fritz. On 28th October, following an invitation by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, he sang Schubert’s Ave Maria at Ground Zero in front of the whole world as part of the memorial to the victims of 9/11. In the summer of 2002 he performed in the role of Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly at Torre del Lago. Following further successful pop recordings and international awards, in 2004 Bocelli continued to develop his operatic stage career (playing Cavaradossi in Tosca and then the lead in Werther in Bologna) as well as performing at many large concert venues. The essential (is invisible to the eye) “It is only with the heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye” wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupery…and the essential, in the career of an opera singer, can be found in his discography. In Bocelli’s case it is by his recordings that his voice can be guaranteed to be kept constantly current for generations to come. As Caruso did at the start of the last century, so Bocelli continues to do at the beginning of the millennium. His first “classical” recording dates back to 1997 and was entitled Viaggio Italiano. It was a Caterina Caselli Sugar project undertaken with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra: spanning from Puccini to Schubert, Verdi to Donizetti. 1998 saw the release of Aria – The Opera Album, with the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino directed by Gianandrea Noseda. The dawn of the new millennium was marked by the release of a CD dedicated to Sacred Arias with the Orchestra and Choir of the National Academy of Saint Cecilia conducted by Myung-Whun Chung: an homage to Christianity, which remains one of his most brilliant artistic productions, becoming the best selling classical album ever released by a solo artist. Bocelli earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by occupying first, second and third place in the American classical music charts. A voice for the new millennium The year 2000 marked a new milestone in Andrea Bocelli’s recording career: Puccini’s La Bohème, with Maestro Zubin Mehta conducting and Barbara Frittoli in the role of Mimì. Andrea had already played the role of Rodolfo in 1998 prompting praise from Corelli, who commented: “Andrea is an operatic tenor with a voice of rare beauty. His sense of romance and melody goes beyond the very essence of Rodolfo the bohemian”. Still under the baton of M° Mehta, the start of the millennium also celebrated the release of the Verdi album, which gave Andrea the opportunity to immerse himself in this national treasure’s masterpieces. In 2001 it was the turn of Verdi’s Requiem, a recording with a formidable cast, starting from the conductor Valery Gergiev. In the autumn of 2002 Andrea Bocelli combined his energies with those of Lorin Maazel, with whom he undertook a very special recording project: Sentimento, a collection of romantic pieces by composers such as Tosti, Denza and Gastaldon, arranged for the orchestra by M° Maazel, who also demonstrated his refined musical talents as a concert violinist, accompanying Bocelli’s voice. The project was an enormous success earning Andrea a double nomination at the 2003 Classical Brit Awards, where he won both “Album of the Year” and “Best Selling Classical Album of the Year”. In May 2003 Andrea sang the role of Mario in his album of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca under the direction of Zubin Mehta.