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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 ’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 Sugar, Andrea had an opportunity to make his debut on the operatic stage, in 1994 in Verdi’s (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 , 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 and this led to the beginning of their successful collaboration. 1999 was a very intense year. Andrea performed at the Arena in 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 , 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 ) 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 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 , 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: , a collection of romantic pieces by 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 , 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 ’s Tosca under the direction of Zubin Mehta. In spring 2004 Bocelli released which had been recorded at the Bellini in in 2001. Bocelli was accompanied by Veronica Villarroel, Carlo Guelfi and Carlo Colombara.

On the Opera stage: the great love Accustomed to leaping over apparently insurmountable obstacles, the Tuscan tenor extended his repertoire (not disdaining an occasional carefully measured venture into melodic cross-over territory). Bocelli sang Werther, which was released into the market in spring. The following year his repertoire of operatic recordings was enriched by two great landmarks of realism: Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, both directed by Steven Mercurio. His more recent projects included the demanding role of Andrea Chénier by Giordano and finally the most audacious and bewitching love story of all time, Bizet’s , directed by Myung Whun Chung. For his concerts Bocelli conquered the most lauded strongholds of the classical music world such as the Wiener Staatsoper. In 2008, while his new album was a sell-out success, Andrea performed in Carmen at the Rome Opera, followed by Puccini’s Messa di Gloria in Padova, and then La Petite Messe Solennelle in the United States, directed by Placido Domingo. He appeared as Turiddu in the Cavalleria Rusticana on the prestigious stage of the Deutsche Opera in Berlin and then flew to South America where he performed to an audience of more than 110,000 in San Paolo, Brazil.

New Challenges Having always been sensitive to the call for solidarity, Bocelli’s name is frequently to be found heading the list of artists appearing at concerts to support causes such as aid for the earthquake victims of the Abruzzo, alongside stars such as and in evocative venues such as the Colosseum in Rome. And it is to promote the image of the Eternal City that Franco Zeffirelli, the film director, asked him to play Mario Cavaradossi from Puccini’s Tosca, protagonist of his film Promo di Roma with actress Monica Bellucci. In September 2009 Bocelli made his triumphant debut at Carnegie Hall in New York in a triple concert where he performed sacred arias and lieder. In November he was awarded another prestigious token of recognition – the Vittorio de Sica Prize – conferred by the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano. As many of the legendary voices of the past such as Caruso and Sinatra have done before him, Andrea Bocelli also celebrates the Christmas tradition. His new album My Christmas shot to success in no time. Released on 3rd November 2009 in the USA, it went straight into the charts at number three and reached second place where it remained for six consecutive weeks. Achieving sales of more than 4 million, this makes it the 5th top selling album in the world in 2009. And these can be added to the 65 million records already sold to date. Since March 2010 there has been a new star shining bright on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame dedicated to our Tuscan tenor, one of a very few Italians to appear in this prestigious firmament. Moreover, the Andrea Bocelli website www.andreabocelli.com has achieved over a million hits in one year. Meanwhile the annual meeting at the “Teatro del Silenzio”, the joyful and prestigious summer concert event performed (since 2006) in the spectacular natural setting of the Tuscan hills in Val d’Era, acquires a reputation that makes it an unmissable event for a wide international audience, that comes to Tuscany every summer for the occasion. Andrea Bocelli himself is honorary president and co-founder of the project. Among the guests who have appeared with him on the stage of the stunning open-air amphitheatre are Placido Domingo, Josè Carreras, , Laura Pausini, David Foster, Sarah Brightman, Zucchero Fornaciari, Heather Headley, Noa, Roberto Bolle and Nicola Piovani. A lover of beauty and art beyond the traditional ideological standards, Andrea Bocelli is a world famous pop star, a refined and versatile opera singer and a passionate, committed humanist. In autumn 2010 the updated and expanded edition of his autobiographical novel “La Musica del Silenzio” (“The Music of Silence”) was met with great acclaim. At the same time Bocelli achieved yet another huge success with the release of his recording of Carmen: Duets & Arias, a collection of the most famous arias from Georges Bizet’s Carmen which shot to the top of the charts in the United States and Canada.

A record-breaking artist Andrea Bocelli faces the new decade and continues in his tireless concert and lyrical activities, constantly extending his repertoire, also in new musical fields such as Baroque and Lieder works. He interpreted an extremely complex Lieder program – the international project entitled the “Notte Illuminata” in February 2011, receiving an incredible 20 minute standing ovation. This seals the debut of the artist at the House in New York, a city where he returned on September 15th of the same year for the extraordinary concert held on the Great Lawn in Central Park, singing with artists such as , Celine Dion and Tony Bennett, and accompanied by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert: an exceptional event which was broadcast by WNET and recorded to make a CD and DVD (“Concerto: One Night in Central Park”) distributed in over 70 different countries. In February 2012, another debut in the lyrical world: Bocelli starred on stage at the Carlo Felice theatre in Genoa in the lead role of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette directed by Fabio Luisi. A double CD of this production was also made and released in November. In 2012 a new CD “Opera” is also released. It is an anthology of the most dazzling moments in the history of opera performed during an international career spanning twenty years, in addition to the “Complete Opera Edition”, a box-set – always for the label Decca – which brings together in eighteen CDs the lyrical recording of complete Operas performed by the Tuscan Tenor. In October, during the London ceremony for the prestigious “Classic Brit Awards 2012”, he was awarded the award “International Artist of the Year” by the Sir .

Singing passion On the pop music side, Andrea Bocelli has been one of the most loved and followed stars at a global level for more than twenty years. His highly anticipated new album “Passione” – released in seventy-five countries at the end of January 2013 and immediately shooting up to the top of the International charts, remaining in the billboard 200 for over two months – includes some of the most beautiful love songs of all time including, furthermore, duets with Jennifer Lopez e Nelly Furtado. On 1st of June 2013 a crowded Arena in Verona welcomes Andrea Bocelli in the sumptuous Opera Gala – broadcast in prime time by the Rai television Channel – celebrating, at the same time, the centenary of the opera season at the Arena and the Verdi bicentennial, alongside the memory of his late colleague, . On that occasion the Tuscan tenor sung, once more, a duet with Placido Domingo, who halso tried his hand on the podium, conducting a memorable interpretation by Bocelli of “Nessun dorma”. To the renewed success of the Teatro del Silenzio, whose eighth edition had guests such as Giorgio Albertazzi, Lindsay Kemp, Riccardo Cocciante and Pino Daniele, will follow - in autumn - the release of the CD + DVD “Love in Portofino”, an international project featuring the performances of Andrea Bocelli (of authors like Ennio Morricone, Elvis Presley, Fred Buscaglione) and the extraordinary duets of the tenor with Jennifer Lopez, Chris Botti, Sandy, Caroline Campbell and Veronica Berti: the CD alternates the splendor of the live performance to the songs recorded the studio, whilst the DVD contains images of the concert event that Bocelli held in Portofino in August 2012 in front of an audience made up of friends, colleagues and admirers such as Oscar-winning Michael Caine, Paul Anka and Ornella Muti.

Cinema A star in concerts that were inevitably sold-out, Andrea Bocelli has also recorded lyrical operas such as “La Bohème”, “Tosca”, “Il Trovatore”, “Werther”, “Pagliacci”, “Cavalleria Rusticana”, “Carmen”, “Andrea Chénier”. Some of the latest recordings include Manon Lescaut featuring Plácido Domingo as conductor, with Zubin Mehta (album that has been internationally acclaimed) and, always conducted by M° Metha, . On April 30th 2015, he was the triumphant protagonist at the opening concert of Expo International in –broadcasted live and worldwide – with the Teatro alla Scala orchestra. “The complete Pop Album” was released in July 2015, an exclusive box-set where Andrea Bocelli’s extraordinary career is retraced for the first time through the publication of the entire pop catalogue. The remastered catalogue includes 13 songs + 3 bonus albums, distributed by Sugar Srl/Ume worldwide. Last October 23rd he released his new pop album, also his fifteenth studio recording, in 75 countries, dedicated to movie soundtracks: 16 timeless songs interpreted in five different languages, which have touched the hearts and memories of several generations. From duets (including Ariana Grande) to entrancing masterpieces related to the big screen, "Cinema" contains an exceptional set of songs that embraces all major successes written for the cinema: great love stories and not only, from films such as 'Doctor Zhivago', 'Love Story', 'The Godfather', 'Life is Beautiful', 'Gladiator', 'Once Upon a Time in America', 'Il Postino', 'Love is a wonderful thing', 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s' and many others, as well as famous musical songs such as 'West Side Story' and 'Evita', made immortal by their cinematic representations. The album, just one month after its release is already breaking a new record in the UK charts: in fact Andrea Bocelli is the first classical music artist who has had ten Albums in the UK Top 10 pop music chart, thus confirming to be the best selling artist of classical music of all times in the United Kingdom. During a further triumphant tour in Asia, on April 20th 2016 Andrea Bocelli performed in India, taking part in the great symphonic and operatic concert/event organized to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Zubin Mehta at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai (on the podium of his hometown Maestro Mehta himself, conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra). Andrea Bocelli in his career has performed for four Presidents of the United States, three Popes, the British Royal Family and many Prime Ministers. Lately he has sung for Queen Elizabeth, on the occasion of the Gala Evening organized in the Park of Windsor Castle, to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the Queen of England.

In the sign of solidarity Having always been convinced that solidarity is the only intelligent response to inequality, since the 90s Andrea Bocelli has been one of the protagonists of several important events related to philanthropy and to the support of the disadvantaged throughout the world. In July 2011 Andrea Bocelli, the honorary President of the ARPA Foundation, which promotes research and training in the field of medical health, gave life to ABF “the Andrea Bocelli foundation” in order to enhance, and not disperse, the richness of the relationships, the exchange of emotions, and the bond of trust that every day, for years, he has created and still creates with many people all over the world. At the moment the “Andrea Bocelli Foundation” is at the forefront at an international level, through intervention programs aimed at overcoming the barriers generated by poverty, disability and social exclusion, because, as claimed by its Founder: ”we are all brought into the world to be happy, and we all have a right to happiness. This is often not possible due to the hindrances created by unfair societies and communities, because of the walls put up by ourselves and our limiting beliefs”. The ambitious initiatives of the ABF Foundation have already involved exceptional individuals (such as the Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Junus), joining forces with world-renowned universities and advanced research institutions, such as the MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. The very theme of solidarity and the philanthropic projects of ABF were the main topic– on June 26th 2013 –of a heartwarming and affectionate meeting of the tenor and his family with Pope Francesco. Once again, on September 26, 2015 he had the honor of singing in the presence of His Holiness Pope Francis, in the occasion of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. At the opening of the world Economic Forum 2015 in Davos, he was given the Crystal Award, a prestigious award to the artist, the man, the philanthropist.

Already present in 2013 at the prestigious National Prayer Breakfast of Washington, both as an artist and as the Founder of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, he has been once more invited in 2016, and once again, in the presence of the US President, Barack Obama, his performances and also the short speech he gave contextually, have been welcomed by a double standing ovation.

On May 25th 2016 Andrea Bocelli gave birth, together with Argentine footballer Javier Zanetti, to an extraordinary marathon of solidarity (broadcast in full in prime time television) at the Open Theater Expo in Milan. The “Bocelli & Zanetti Night” has hosted great artists and football legends. From Pelé to Ronaldo, from Zubin Mehta to Laura Pausini and Kylie Minogue, all united to give their philanthropic contribution, in favor of projects dedicated to the education of children in particularly disadvantaged areas in Argentina and Haiti.

Giorgio De Martino June 2016