Andrea Bocelli

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Andrea Bocelli (2010)

Andrea Bocelli , GUO (born September 22, 1958 in Lajatico near Volterra , Tuscany ) is an Italian singer ( tenor ), songwriter and producer .

So far, Bocelli has been able to sell his albums over 85 million times. This makes him the tenor with the world's best-selling records, is one of the most successful Italian singers who have also made a name for themselves internationally, and has received numerous awards.

At first, Bocelli sang mainly pop as in the albums Bocelli (1995) and Romanza (1997). From the late 1990s he also released albums with a classical focus, for example Aria - The Opera Album in 1998 and Verdi in 2001 , in which he published arias recorded at opera performances. At that time he first toured the United States , where the albums reached high positions on the Billboard charts .

Life

Childhood and youth

Andrea Bocelli was born with glaucoma . As he got older, this progressively impaired his eyesight. The hereditary eye disease could only be determined after numerous examinations. He was operated on 27 times in childhood, but this did not stop his vision loss.

He grew up on the family's farm in the village of Lajatico. At the age of six he received his first piano lessons. "My heart has always beat for music, for the great voices, for instruments of all kinds," said Bocelli in 2008 of the German press agency. He described himself as a not very hardworking student who only practiced what to be learned for music lessons shortly before the lessons (Bocelli 2000). In addition to the piano, Bocelli learned the flute, saxophone and clarinet in his youth. At the age of twelve he was hit in the head by a soccer ball during a school tournament, whereupon he became completely blind a little later. In the same year he won the first singing competition "Margherita d'Oro" with the song 'O sole mio . Despite his blindness, he said, he had a happy childhood and accurately kept pictorial impressions. He doesn't regret being blind.

Study and vocal training

After graduating from high school, he began studying law in 1980 . He explained that even during this time he liked the music, never gave it up and it didn't give up on him ("I have never abandoned music; music has never abandoned me"). For a year he worked as a lawyer and at the same time took singing lessons from Luciano Bettarini, who had already trained opera singers like Franco Corelli . At the beginning, Bocelli sang and played pieces in various bars, including some by Frank Sinatra . There he met his future wife in 1987.

Bocelli later successfully took part in a competition led by Franco Corelli in the finals, where he received praise and helpful tips. In his autobiography he writes that he had repeatedly sent recordings of the songs Amico Mio and Quando made in 1987 to record companies, but always received negative responses because the singing style did not differ clearly enough from other artists.

After meeting his future wife, he even thought about ruling out a musical career entirely. He graduated with another passion, the theater, after he had been assured several times that blindness due to the individual movements of the performers would not permit any activity as an actor. Speaking of the difficulties in the music industry at the time, Bocelli said in a later interview: “It was difficult to convince [the receiving societies] to believe in what I was doing at a time when the market was dominated by youth. "(" It was difficult to convince [the recording companies] to believe in what I was doing as the market was dominated by teenagers). "

1992–1994: First engagement with Zucchero and profit at Sanremo

In 1992, the Italian rock singer Zucchero needed an opera singer for the song Miserere , which he wrote with Bono and sang himself on his album of the same name. He recorded a version with Bocelli and then sent it to Luciano Pavarotti . After hearing Bocelli's voice, Pavarotti encouraged Zucchero not to sing the song with him but with Bocelli. ("Thank you for writing such a wonderful song. Yet you do not need me to sing it. Let Andrea sing Miserere with you, for there is no one finer"). Bocelli believes Pavarotti didn't want to sing with Zucchero and should step in. Pavarotti was initially surprised by Bocelli's unfamiliarity. When asked whether Pavarotti should be regarded as his mentor, Bocelli said no, but admitted that Pavarotti had played a "key role" in his career. Another important person at this time was Caterina Caselli , who Bocelli discovered during the Zuccheros birthday party, where Bocelli sang and played, and who later served as manager and producer.

A year later, Bocelli went on his international tour with Zucchero. As well as singing the song Miserere with Zucchero, Bocelli was given the opportunity to sing other songs alone, such as Nessun Dorma , which Zucchero's fans herself received with applause. In the same year he received a recording contract after he had also been able to win the managing director of the Sugar Records record company for himself.

In November 1993, Bocelli won the preliminary round of the Sanremo Festival 1994 , also with the song Miserere , which he sang without the support of Zucchero. The idea to sing the song alone came from his manager, Michele Torpedine. He was there when Zucchero and Bocelli went into a pub one evening and the guests asked them to sing Miserere . However, Zucchero was tired of singing that evening, so Bocelli, much to the delight of those present, imitated Zucchero. As Bocelli later said, at first he was not trusted to take over the voice of the tenor and the singer. In February 1994 he appeared at the actual festival with Il mare calmo della sera and achieved first place in the newcomer category with a record number of points. Shortly after his victory at Sanremo, he released his first album, also entitled Il mare calmo della sera . It hit the top of the charts immediately after its release and went platinum a few weeks later. After Bocelli drove to his hometown shortly afterwards, he was greeted with joy by the whole village; Signs were put up saying “Thank you [Andrea] for turning Sanremo upside down”. As Bocelli later wrote himself, he knew then that "everything had started, but that nothing had really happened." Shortly afterwards, he played the role of Macduff in his first play, Macbeth by William Shakespeare . He sang at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa and was able to win over the director of the theater, Claudio Desderi. "His voice was very beautiful and cultivated," Desderi praised him. Although Bocelli did not get a leading role with his character, he took over the aria Ah, la paterna mano , which he performed in the fourth act. He made his first appearance at the Teatro Sociale in Mantua . About the difficulty of the implementation for Bocelli, one critic wrote: “The audience held their breath when Andreas first appeared, when Bocelli / Macduff came on stage through a very narrow corridor and sang 'Orrore, orrore!', Almost running . Another difficult moment came during the soup with the ghost banquos, where he had to raise his mug with others. ”Nevertheless, Bocelli managed to pass the performance without a mistake.

He did his next tour with the Italian pop singer Gerardina Trovato and in September he appeared at a benefit gala initiated by Pavarotti with Mattinata by Ruggiero Leoncavallo . In the same month he appeared for the first time in the Opera in Pisa . On Christmas Eve he sang the hymn Adeste Fideles in Rome in the presence of Pope John Paul II .

1995–1997: start of international success

As the previous year's winner of the Newcomer Competition of the Sanremo Festival, Bocelli was invited in 1995 to perform another piece, this time in the main category. He sang Con te partirò and finished fourth in the overall ranking. He then recorded this piece for his album Bocelli , which was released in November of that year. It was produced by the Italian composer Mauro Malavasi . The album sold so successfully in Italy that it was awarded double platinum there. Thanks to its high position in the Belgian charts, it was awarded six times platinum, and in the Netherlands and Germany it even received the status of "multiplatin". In the autumn he was able to release his third album, Viaggio Italiano , which was his first classic album. He received the Echo for Best Seller of the Year for his success with the album .

In November he performed in the Netherlands and Belgium . He was also at the Night of the Proms , an annual music festival, and performed a number of songs from the field of pop and classical music, including the song Miserere . His popularity in Belgium increased so much that the song Con te partirò from his repertoire became the best-selling single in the country to this day.

Sarah Brightman, 2007

He became known to the general public with the song Cont te partirò , which he also performed as a duet with the English soprano Sarah Brightman and the London Symphony Orchestra in the English version Time to Say Goodbye as a farewell song for the boxer Henry Maske on November 23, 1996 recorded. Brightman developed a business interest in Bocelli when she heard his song Con te partirò . The English title then became a number one hit in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 1996 . The single was sold about three million times by February 1997 and went platinum fifteen times. Around 40,000 to 60,000 issues of the single are said to have been sold daily. The announcement that his singles were now in the top positions of the charts was met calmly by Bocelli and replied that he was happy, but the focus for him was the joy of the listeners in his songs.

Bocelli conquered the Spanish charts in 1996 with a duet with Marta Sánchez , with whom he sang Vivo por ella , the Spanish version of Vivo per lei . The same single was translated into French and reached the top of the French charts in December 1997 under the title Je vis pour elle with Hélène Segara . The song was just as successful in Wallonia , in the French-speaking part of Belgium.

In the spring of 1997 Bocelli's first international album was released under the title Romanza , which was awarded multi- platinum in many countries and further increased its international fame. It reached the top of the charts in many countries and managed to stay on the charts in the Netherlands for 176 weeks until September 2001. It is therefore the fifth most successful album in Dutch chart history. On March 3rd of the same year he appeared in Hamburg with Sarah Brightman, where he and her received the Echo for the best single of the year.

Between June and August 1997, Bocelli was on tour in Germany to perform his repertoire from the album Bocelli . During this period he gave a total of nineteen concerts.

In August he attended the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago in Italy and later performed in Paris, again under the eyes of the Pope. He went on a trip through Germany and performed his pieces in twenty-two different places. His concert in Piazza dei Cavallieri, which took place in September 1997, was recorded and published under the name A Night in Tuscany (Italian: Una notte nella Toscana ). In the same month he was able to look forward to another ECHO award for Vaggio Italia as the best-selling album , this time in the classic category . Towards the end of the month he sang in the Vatican State in a benefit concert dedicated to fighting hunger in the world. On October 25th he was awarded the Bambi in the Classical category in Cologne .

1998–1999: Growing popularity in America

Bocelli made his operatic debut in 1998 when he took on the role of Rodolfo in La Bohème . For the first time in this line-up, the opera was performed in the Teatro Comunale from February 18 to 23 in Cagliari . The following month he released his album Aria - The Opera Album .

Bocelli's next debut was in April when he first appeared in the US . His first appearance was at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC . One day later, on April 20, he sang in front of the White House in the presence of then US President Bill Clinton .

Half a month later he was awarded again, this time in Monte Carlo . He received two World Music Awards for best Italian singer and best classical performer.

In July and August 1998 he performed several times in the north and south of America, his last concert in Madison Square Garden was sold out. On Thanksgiving , he performed with Celine Dion , singing with her The Prayer of Celine Dion's then current album and single Ave Maria . Dion later said of Bocelli, "I heard someone say, if God had a singing voice, He would sound like Bocelli." His performances increased Bocelli's popularity in the New World . Bocelli himself wrote on October 5, 1998 in his diary, which appeared in excerpts in his autobiography, that he now feels like a “donkey”. Even so, he describes this time in the United States as a very happy one, as the audience seems to appreciate him very much.

In the same year he was offered the role of Rodolfo in the opera La Bohème ; Bocelli accepted. After about three and a half years, he was now playing his second role. Steven Mercurio , who until then did not know Bocelli personally, was hired as conductor . Rehearsals for the work lasted from January 21 to February 18, 1999, a time that was very exhausting for Bocelli as he suffered from panic attacks and insomnia during this time. He admitted that he had thought about the consequences extensively before he agreed to work. Bocelli had to work a long time, especially on the movements, as the role required the most diverse gestures and actions. He had to dance with Mimì, the leading actress, toss a torn manuscript in the oven and put a cigar in someone's mouth. Director Lorenzo Mariani said he didn't want to make his job easier for Bocelli and ended up being satisfied with the lead actor's performance. Bocelli was particularly concerned about his lack of experience. He knew that given his great popularity, he would be watched more by the critics than the other actors. Ana Maria Martinez, who was supposed to play Mimì, was temporarily out of the rehearsals. Nevertheless, Bocelli continued rehearsing his scenes and also took over the arias of his teammates such as O mio babbino caro or Mi chiamano Mimì , which led to the general amusement of those present. He also took on the female part at Con te partirò . After he had finished with O babbino caro , he said to the conductor: "You know, I've always wanted to sing that."

In 1999 he also gave concerts in the United States. He sang at the Bellagio in Las Vegas , which increased his fame again. At the 56th award of the Golden Globes , he won one of these awards for best film music for his duet with Celine Dion. The song was also nominated for an Oscar . Exactly one month later, on February 24, 1999, he appeared at the 41st Grammy Awards . He was nominated in the category for best new artist, but could not prevail against Lauryn Hill.

On March 22nd, his new album was released, called Sogno . It sold four million times in just a few months. In total, it has been sold ten million times to date. The CD contains the duet The Prayer with Celine Dion and was nominated for a Grammy in the category Best New Artist .

From April 11th to 24th, he went on a tour of the west coast of North America from San Diego to Vancouver , which he concluded with a performance in front of 18,000 spectators in Los Angeles . While he sang The Prayer , Elizabeth Taylor stood by his side on stage.

At the invitation of director Steven Spielberg , Bocelli sang at a Democratic Party event on May 15, which was also attended by Bill Clinton. At the end of the month he sang again in Europe, first in Portugal and Spain, a little later also in Munich in the Olympic Stadium during Michael Jackson's benefit concert for the benefit of hungry children around the world.

From July 10th to July 27th he appeared in a guest role in seven performances of the operetta The Merry Widow in Rome. He sang three arias in this piece, as well as the aria La donna è mobile from Verdi's opera Rigoletto . He drove onto the stage in a vintage car. Again he received a standing ovation for his performances, which let the performance pause for several minutes. Initially, it was planned to put Bocelli in the lead role, but in the summer he suffered severe back pain, which he had treated in a clinic in Munich. Since the doctors could not say when he could start the samples, the main role was cast with a different tenor.

In the autumn, however, he recovered and was able to rehearse for his third opera, this time for the role of Werther in Massenet's work of the same name. On September 10th he also appeared in Eastern Europe : He sang with Daniela Dessi and two Polish singers in the Great Theater in Łódź . The following month he performed with Werther at the Detroit Opera House and the Michigan Opera Theater (MOT). Although it failed to win the approval of the critics, it received violent audience applause.

Bocelli also performed on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood and gave other concerts in Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago. He was also a guest on Jay Leno's Tonight Show . The then mayor of New York , Rudy Giuliani , awarded Bocelli the so-called Crystal Apple , an award from the city for special personalities. His seventh album, Sacred Arias , was released in November 1999. It quickly reached the top of the Classic Billboard charts and ensured that Bocelli was the only vocalist to represent all three top positions on this chart list at the same time; in second place was his album Aria , Vaggio Italia took third place. Sacred Arias was characterized by the fact that it contained exclusively religious music. This album contained the hymn of the "Holy Year" 2000, which the Vatican had selected in October.

Immediately after his return to Italy, he sang in Florence at a meeting of center-left heads of state. Queen Elizabeth II invited him to Birmingham, where the Royal Variety Performance takes place every year. One day after his visit to England, on November 30th, his autobiography La musica del silenzio was published in Italy.

From December 12 to 21, 1999, he sang in some major European cities under Lorin Maazel , and some concerts were broadcast on local television. On December 11th he attended the show Wetten, dass ..? and six days later the José Carreras Gala in Leipzig. On December 31, he ended his concert tour, which had taken him to twenty-four different locations in thirty days, with a concert in New York in front of 8,000 people.

2000–2002: first operas

Celine Dion, 2008

At the 42nd presentation of the Grammy Awards, Bocelli was represented in two categories, including a prize for his duet with Celine Dion. Both performed the song The Prayer at the award ceremony. His World Tour 2000 started on March 31st. In May, the album Sacred Arias was voted album of the year by listeners on the British radio station Classic FM . Bocelli continued his world tour on May 12th when he gave four concerts in Japan and South Korea . When the European Football Championship ended in 2000, he gave a concert with Valery Gergiev and Renée Fleming on the Maas near Rotterdam . On July 6th he gave a concert of the same name near the Statue of Liberty ; about a month later he took part in Verdi's Messa da Requiem in Rome. On September 11, 2000, he released his eighth album, called Verdi . In the same month he performed three times in Australia. He was again awarded the ECHO in the category of bestseller of the year for his album Sacred Arias . In November, his first full opera part, La Bohéme , was released. Bocelli sang Rodolfo there, of whom he claims “I can identify with Rodolfo much better than z. B. with the role of Macduff in Verdi's 'Macbeth' ”. In December he received another award, this time the Golden Europe Prize for classical music in Germany .

In January 2001 he sang the leading role in the opera L'amico Fritz by Pietro Mascagni at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona . He also sang the tenor role in Verdi's Requiem . This work, interpreted by Bocelli, was released as an album on March 19. Subsequently, Bocelli completed a tour of North America with Cecilia Gasdia and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra at his side. On June 17th he gave a concert to celebrate the reopening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa . The following month he performed in Ireland and gave two concerts in Dublin. On October 4th he presented his new album, Cieli di Toscana , at a concert in Venice and has been recognized for around 40 million albums sold worldwide. In October he sang at the opening of the celebration of the 200th birthday of the Sicilian composer Vincenzo Bellini . Towards the end of the month he was back in New York for the terrorist attacks of September 11th and sang Schubert Ellen's third chant at Ground Zero . A fortnight after the attacks, he appeared at the Milan fashion show and made a plea for peace: After the terrible attacks on the United States two weeks ago, we need something beautiful in our lives . The following month he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million copies of the new album Cieli di Toscana sold . He was also honored with an Italian Music Award as Ambassador of Italian Music in the World . In December he gave seven more concerts in New York with Ana María Martínez in the presence of the Italian head of state and other guests of honor. In the same month he also sang in the Italian Senate, which was first broadcast on Italian television. His song Canto della terra was chosen as the musical theme for the soccer World Cup the following year.

In Berlin, on February 5, 2002, Bocelli was delighted to have won the Golden Camera in the Music & Entertainment category . Almost exactly a month later, he was awarded two World Music Awards for best-selling classical performer and best-selling Italian singer. Five days later, on March 11, 2002, he gave a benefit concert in St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, again under the direction of Lorin Maazel. Four days later he was a guest at the opening of the Walt Disney Studio Park in Marne-la-Vallée. On May 7th, Bocelli and Toni Renis received an award for the song Cuore . He also won a BRIT Award on May 23rd for his “outstanding achievements in music”. On May 27th, he gave a concert in Rome, at which the then US President, George W. Bush and Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi were among the guests. The next day, Bocelli took part in the Pavarotti & Friends concert , which took place in Modena and was intended to support Angola. In June of that year he was back in the United States, shortly afterwards he took on the role of Lieutenant BF Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly , which was played during the 48th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago , Italy. On October 14th, Bocelli and Maazel presented the singer's new album, Sentimento , to a worldwide audience. Further public presentations took place in Milan and New York, and the album was available in stores from November 4th. In just forty days it was sold over two million times. On October 24th, Bocelli started his tour, which was also called Sentimento . He toured numerous European and North American cities. Among other things, he visited Manchester in England and sang in front of 13,000 guests. He later performed at Wembley Stadium in London and entertained 11,000 people there.

2003-2005

In February 2003 Madama Butterfly was performed in an exclusive concert in Monte Carlo, at which Caroline , Princess of Hanover, was also present. In March, Bocelli first acted as a producer when the young singers Allunati and Jacqueline Ferry sang for his new label Clacksong at the Sanremo Festival. Towards the end of March, Bocelli appeared on Wetten, dass ..? on. Originally he was supposed to perform a piece from his album Sentimento there, but due to the events of the Iraq war he decided on the song I Believe , as it tells of a world without war, in which people live united in peace and love , like Bocelli justified his decision. The song could be purchased on the Internet for a small price. This money should flow completely into a charitable institution for Iraqi children. Bocelli said: Since I am a father myself, my heart is with the children in Iraq . In May, Bocelli's second opera, Tosca , completely interpreted by him , was published. At the Royal National Institute of Blind People , Bocelli sang in the presence of the British royal family. One day later he received two BRIT Awards for his album Sentimento . On May 24th, he performed in a benefit concert in Pisa, in which numerous other artists took part. Three days later, Bocelli appeared again at a Pavarotti & Friends concert with his compatriot and sang a number of Neapolitan songs. In June he continued his Sentimento tour in Greece and Cyprus . In September Bocelli performed for the Justice Ministers and Interior Ministers of the European Union in Rome in the Parco della Musica . Then he continued his tour, accompanied by some artists.

He won the UK National Music Award in October 2003 for a Favorite Specialist Performer. In November Bocelli could be found again in the United States, where he gave a few concerts, shortly afterwards he made his first appearance in China. At the end of December he sang Ave Maria at Pavarotti's wedding in Modena.

In the following year he appeared four times in Werther as the protagonist of the same name. In April and May he gave several concerts in Asia and visited Manila , Hong Kong and Singapore . In May he accepted the invitation to the We are the Future concert in Rome at Circus Maximus , initiated by Quincy Jones . On May 17th, Bocelli was a guest at the Quincy Jones benefit concert, which took place in Rome and is said to have had up to a million visitors. His third complete opera, Il trovatore , was recorded in June . He was also there at the 50th Puccini Festival in July. He was also involved in the musical design of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens .

In September he toured Australia and New Zealand for his Once in a Lifetime concert . In New Zealand he was accompanied musically by the soprano Hayley Westenra . In October he was back in Asia and gave concerts in Beijing and Shanghai . In November, Bocelli was to appear again on German television: He was planned as a musical guest on the program Die Hit-Giganten - Das Christmas Special, which was moderated by Hugo Egon Balder . However, he had to cancel due to illness.

On December 11th, Bocelli took part in the concert on the occasion of the Nobel Prize and performed the song Dell'amore non si sa from the album Andrea . He performed with Joss Stone and Chris Botti , with whom he later worked on Vivere - The Best of Andrea Bocelli . The concert was given in honor of the newly crowned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai . At the end of the year, Bocelli performed alongside Sarah Connor at the gala event Ein Herz für Kinder and took care of the musical design of the event.

Throughout 2005, Bocelli gave concerts in Hungary , Germany , Norway , the United States, Great Britain and Italy. He also sang Time to Say Goodnight on Sesame Street , a modified version of the duet with Sarah Brightman, as the lullaby for Elmo , a character from Sesame Street. On March 21, he performed at the Music for Asia benefit concert in Rome, which was given for the 2004 earthquake victims in the Indian Ocean.

In June he appeared at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin . On June 2, he contributed to the Life 8 concert near the Palace of Versailles . In the second half of 2005 he traveled through Switzerland, Serbia, Italy, Croatia , the United States, Dubai and most recently Scandinavia . In late August he performed at the Feanol Festival in Wales. In December, Bocelli sang contemporary music for the first time at Lake Las Vegas. This concert was released on DVD under the name Under the Desert Sky . He then took part in the Royal Christmas Show in the United States, which took him to many of the country's major cities. During this time, the Werther album was released. Bocelli performed at special concerts during 2005 that featured the Queen, George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI. were present. In October, Bocelli performed at a concert in Prague, in the Sazka Arena . During the concert he sang with soprano Paola Sanguinetti and was accompanied by the Czech Symphony Orchestra.

2006–2007: Teatro del Silenzio and Vivere

Universal published its sales figures on January 9th . It turned out that for 2003 Andrea Bocelli took first place in the Classic category, ahead of Anne-Sophie Mutter and Anna Netrebko .

Andrea Bocelli at a live concert in 2006

On February 18, 2006, Bocelli sang at the Toyota Center on the occasion of the All-Star Weekend of the NBA, the US professional basketball league. Later in February he sang Because we Believe from his new album Amore for the Turin Winter Olympics and reached a worldwide audience through television. In the same city he began his new world tour in the Piazza di Castello . In March he was raised to the status of Grande Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by the Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for his worldwide commitment as a singer . He received this award during the Sanremo Festival when he sang a duet with Christina Aguilera on March 4th .

From March 31st to April 2nd, Bocelli took part in the Maggio Musicale in Florence , where he performed Canto di piace and the tenor part from the work Messa di Gloria . In Naples he worked on Rossini's Petite Messe solennelle .

In April 2006 he worked briefly for the American show American Idol , where he gave musical support to the participants who were to sing under the motto Greatest Love Song . Katharine McPhee, a participant in the competition, later sang at three concerts with Bocelli. He also appeared on the German show Zimmer frei! by Götz Alsmann , which was broadcast on the occasion of the 250th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart .

In July, Bocelli gave his first concert in the Teatro del Silenzio , which was built on his initiative and is located near his birthplace Lajatico. At the beginning of the 2006 World Cup in Germany he sang the Italian version of the song Because We Believe in front of an audience of billions on television with Gianna Nannini and Ama, credi e vai .

In October 2006, Bocelli could be heard again in the New World: he gave four concerts with the New York Philharmonic , which, according to reports from the New York Times, had a total of around 10,000 visitors, i.e. were sold out. Bernhard Holland, editor at the newspaper, wrote that it would be nicer to be able to rate Bocelli as a viewer than as a critic. According to Holland, it is a critic's duty to write that Bocelli is not a good singer (“The critic's duty is to report that Mr. Bocelli is not a very good singer”). Even the slightest raising of the voice, according to the editor, the voice is even thinner and signals “what appears at the beginning of a strangulation” (“what appears to be the onset of strangulation”).

In November 2006, Universal announced that Andrea Bocelli was one of the best-selling singers of the year along with Nelly Furtado , Rihanna and the Pussycat Dolls . In the middle of the month, Bocelli sang at the wedding reception for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding . However, he refused to sing during the festivities because as a Catholic he could not sing according to the Scientology rite .

In July 2007 he sang in the musical The Phantom of the Opera at Wembley Stadium in England. Afterwards Bocelli returned to his hometown Lajatico to the newly built Teatro del Silenzio , where he gave a concert on July 5, 2007, at which the artists Kenny G , Lang Lang , Laura Pausini , Sarah Brightman , Elisa and Heather Headley also performed. In September he made his first appearance at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, where he gave four concerts. The following month the album Pagliacci was released, the recording of an opera in which he played the character of Canio. In November, Bocelli again won two prizes at the World Music Awards , for best Italian singer and best-selling classical singer worldwide. At the end of 2007 he finished his tour with several appearances in North America and Europe.

The duet Con te partirò was used as a song for an ice skating in the 2007 film The Ice Princes . The kickboxer Akiyama Yoshihiro also used this song to announce his coming into the ring. After the death of the singer Luciano Pavarotti in the same year it was Bocelli not take, at the funeral on September 8 of the year in Modena Ave verum corpus by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to sing. Shortly after the announcement of Pavarotti's death, Bocelli stated that Pavarotti was "the last really big figure in our business". He himself "adored" Pavarotti.

In October, Bocelli appeared at the Rome Film Festival, singing arias from the operas Il trovatore , Rigoletto and Tosca . In December he sang the song Vive Ya , a Spanish version of Vivere , with the Italian singer Laura Pausini , which Bocelli had sung in a duet with the singer Trovatto in 1997 and which appeared on his album Romanza , at the Latin Grammy Awards . The song appeared in 2007 in the album The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere in the English version, which was called Dare to Live and was also sung in a duet with Pausini. Bocelli's best-of album sold a total of three million times.

In December 2007, Bocelli performed again at Madison Square Garden in New York, where he sang various Verdi arias and Nessun dorma in memory of the tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who had recently passed away. Vivien Schweitzer of the New York Times complained about Bocelli's "uneven tone, choppy phrasing and shaky technique", but Bocelli attested that he had achieved great enthusiasm during the concert To evoke “adoring fans”, who set themselves after just a few notes were sung.

2008–2009: Success with Incanto and My Christmas

On January 20, 2008, Bocelli was awarded the Italian platinum television prize Telegatto for Italian music worldwide and sang La Voce del Silenzio and Dare to Life as part of the ceremony . To make his album, released the previous year better known, he sang Canto della terra and other songs included in the album on a television appearance in England . At the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony on February 10, he sang The Prayer again in memory of Pavarotti. The following day he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and sang Dare to Life with Heather Headley, with whom he had already performed at a concert in 2007.

In April 2008, Bocelli traveled through Asia and gave concerts in Tokyo , Taichung , Taiwan , Seoul , which attracted more than 15,000 visitors each. He gave an interview earlier this month in which he admitted that he had always had stage fright before performing; he still has it today ( I've always suffered from stage fright ). He added that the quiet of a recording studio was something he liked very much ( that the relative calm and tranquility of the recording studio is something that I really like a lot ). In another interview he gave in January of that year, however, he emphasized that the audience is the pen, the engine that also gives you the motivation to keep going . The applause after a performance is a liberating moment for him.

On May 7th he sang in Slovenia in front of 8,000 people and six days later in his home country at the Teatro delle Muse in Ancona , which was a benefit concert for poor and disabled children around the world. Ten days later, he was in the United States, speaking with Katharina McPhee, American Idol candidate , The Prayer for Canadian producer David Foster . Bocelli later praised the Filipino singer Charice , from whom he had heard her first concert.

The following month, Bocelli sang at a concert in Italy in front of more than 80,000 people for the birthday of the Italian Republic in Milan and later played the character of Don José in the opera Carmen in Rome .

On July 20, Bocelli gave his third concert in total at the Teatro del Silenzio , where other musicians also performed as in the previous year. This year it was Nicola Piovani , Roberto Bolle , the Israeli singer Noa and the young Filipino talent Charice . Eleven days later, Bocelli was in Vilnius , where he sang Canto della terra and The Prayer with Tina Arena , an Australian singer, in front of 18,000 people.

On August 7th of that year he performed at a benefit concert in Bosnia-Herzegovina , where he was accompanied by the Czech National Orchestra. He then continued his tour in Australia, where he gave a total of five concerts. His two sons accompanied him on this trip.

In the course of the Veneto Festival on September 26th, Bocelli also performed, this time in front of an audience of a thousand people. The Wiener Singakademie and an orchestra provided instrumental support for his performance. The concert took place on the occasion of Giacomo Puccini's 150th birthday.

At the beginning of October Bocelli sang Un amore so grande , a piece of his album, which was released shortly afterwards, on the show Wetten, dass ...? . He sang this piece on the CD with his partner Veronica Berti. Bocelli said the following about the choice of his partner as a singing partner: I wanted to add an angelic voice to my tenor voice, like Veronica's. Together with her, the story of the song is all the more true . Before that he said that this song was about a passionate, consuming love . On October 10th and 11th, Bocelli performed in the ruined city of Petra , where he sang Dare to Live with Laura Pausini , and on October 19th he performed with Cecilia Bartoli at the ECHO Awards in Germany and sang some pieces from his newly released album Incanto : 'O surdato' nnamurato and Non Ti Scordar Di Me . The album contains songs that connect Bocelli with his childhood, as he already knew and liked them then. Bartoli was subsequently awarded the ECHO for the best singer of the year . On October 24th Bocelli performed in Naples, where he sang pieces from his new album due to the release of the new album in Italy. Later that month, Bocelli appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show , singing The Prayer alone, as well as Because , a piece from his new album. His album was released on the same day and reached number eight in the US charts on November 13, with 62,000 versions sold to date in the United States. It even took first place in the classic charts. In the Billboard charts as well as in the charts of the Classical Albums it is still represented in 2010, in both high positions.

On November 21st and 22nd, Bocelli appeared in a solo quartet to perform Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle . This included Plácido Domingo , who sang with Bocelli in Washington DC. Bocelli sang twice during this piece and later performed a duet from Les pêcheurs de perles with Domingo . A few days later, Bocelli sang with Verónica Villarroel in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana in San Antonio , Texas . On November 28th, Bocelli appeared as a soloist in Mexico, where he sang numerous pieces from his new album, including Spanish-language hit songs that he had sung before, such as Somos Novios , Besame Mucho , Amapola and Por Ti Volaré , the Spanish version from Con te partiró .

On March 25, 2009, Bocelli was supposed to take part in the opera Faust , but it did not take place in Palermo because the workers responsible were on strike. Bocelli wrote an open letter to his fans and thanked all those who had come, but also reassured them by writing that he wanted to thank the conductor Plasson, who was to lead the performance; opera had nothing to fear as long as men like Plasson worked for it. On March 27, Bocelli made his debut in the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi . On the occasion of the concert wrote Times Out Abu Dhabi , would Bocelli with his tender ( tender ) fifty years been a box office hit in the classical world as it did manage Pavarotti. Bocelli said in this interview that without the voice of the Italian tenor Franco Corelli there would be no Bocelli.

In April, Bocelli toured the Spanish-speaking countries of South America. In Peru alone, more than 20 million people followed his performance. He used this concert to present his new album on the subcontinent. When Bocelli was in the Dominican Republic at the end of April , he was awarded the Orden al Mérito Duarte, Sánchez y Mella en el Grado de Gran Oficial for his contribution to international art and culture.

Bocelli performed at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin on May 23, where he presented some pieces by the composer Pietro Mascagni . In favor of the earthquake victims in the Italian city of L'Aquila , Bocelli sang a concert in the Colosseum on May 25th. Tickets were only offered for sale to a limited extent. Due to the high price of the tickets - one ticket cost a thousand euros - the organizer admitted that he was a little afraid of the high price . During the concert he sang a total of twelve arias and a number of Neapolitan love songs and was broadcast nationally by the Italian television station RAI. On May 27, 2009, Bocelli sang Il Gladiatore by Georg Friedrich Handel as the signature song for the new season of the UEFA Champions League , during the opening celebrations.

At the beginning of July, Bocelli sang the Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart for the victims of the train accident in Viareggio . On July 17 and 18, Bocelli sang again in his concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico , where numerous other artists such as Plácido Domingo and Katherine Jenkins performed. Bocelli's repertoire included excerpts from operas such as La Bohème and Aida, from Brazilian to Tibetan music.

As part of the Classic Open in Leipzig from August 7th to 16th, Bocelli performed on the evening of August 15th under Andrea Bocelli & Friends and was musically supported by other singers.

Bocelli released his new album "My Christmas" on November 20, 2009, in which he mainly sings traditional Christmas carols such as O Holy Night or White Christmas . Some titles were acquired in collaboration with Natalie Cole and Mary J. Blige . Bocelli also joined in a song that he sang with the puppets from the Muppet Show. Parallel to the English titled album, a slightly modified version was released under the name Mi Navidad , which is intended for the Spanish-speaking market. In addition to a few titles that are also available on My Christmas, there are also songs specially sung in Spanish, such as Santa Claus Llegó a la Ciudad - the Spanish version of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town  . The album was able to occupy a high position in the Latin Pop Charts with second place. The international album was also able to establish itself in the top chart positions shortly after its release in the United States. The CD had sold four million copies worldwide by mid-December, making it not only the most successful classic album to date, but also the fifth strongest album of 2009.

After the end of the sales year 2009, Bocelli was able to sell his albums a total of 2.7 million times in the United States and is thus just below Lady Gaga in sixth place of the most successful interpreters of that year.

Since 2010

On January 31, Bocelli met with the American singer Mary J. Blige on to her during the ceremony of the Grammy Awards the song Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel singing. It was announced that the song could be downloaded from iTunes and that the proceeds from this project would all be passed on to the Red Cross to provide financial support to the earthquake victims in Haiti .

On February 28th, Bocelli performed at the annual Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest . During this event, a documentary about the singer entitled Andrea Bocelli: The Story Behind the Voice was performed.

On March 2nd, the opera Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano was published, in which Bocelli took the title role and sang with Violeta Urmana and Lucio Gallo , among others . On the same day Andrea Bocelli was awarded the 2,402nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . The star was installed right in front of the Roosevelt Hotel.

On the occasion of the Expo China trade fair, which opened on May 1st , Bocelli performed alongside other artists during the opening ceremony. He sang the aria Nessun Dorma from the opera Turandot in front of an elaborately designed background. In the days that followed, Bocelli stayed in Southeast Asia. He performed in Hong Kong on May 4th and visited the Taipei Arena in Taiwan on May 6th . Bocelli was accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra , which played well-known pieces such as La donna è mobile . The reason for the preference of this location is that Bocelli had already been to Taichung in 2008 and found the place so impressive that he wanted another appearance on the island, Niu Hsiao Hwa informed. Bocelli was enthusiastic about the audience during his performances in Southeast Asia and said in an interview: “I have visited many countries and I am amazed that so many people like my songs. It feels like a dream. ”(“ I have visited many countries and amazed that so many people love my songs. It feels like a dream. ”) On the evening of May 9th, Bocelli gave a concert in Palm Valley in front of 12,000 Present. The event was so popular in advance that the demand for tickets could not be met. Bocelli was accompanied musically by the local orchestra Palm Valley And Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage . Andrea Griminelli and Delta Goodrem also performed . On May 18th, Bocelli received the World Music Award in the category of World's Best Classical Artist and accepted the award himself.

In early June, Bocelli's video was released in which he speaks out against abortion. Playing on the piano, he tells the listener the anecdote that his mother was once advised to abort her son because he would be born with a physical disability. On July 9, Andrea Bocelli appeared with Bryan Adams two days before the start of the final game in South Africa as part of the 2010 World Cup . The duo received musical support from the South African soprano Pretty Yende . In a later interview with Times Live newspaper , Bocelli reported that he met and enjoyed working with new singers while in South Africa. The album Carmen: Duetts and Arias was released on July 26th. It contains excerpts from the opera of the same name Carmen , including the aria La fleur que tu m'avais jetée . Bryn Terfel , among others, also participated in the recording . Joe Banno of the Washington Post found little positive words for the album, saying to Bocelli that his voice sounded weak and that attempts were made to raise him to the level of Franco Corelli .

Together with the British singer Ed Sheeran , a duet version of his single Perfect was released on December 15, 2017 under the title Perfect Symphony .

In 2013 he finished his singing degree at the Conservatorio Giacomo Puccini in La Spezia.

On Easter Sunday 2020 he gave an online concert in the Milan Cathedral. He was accompanied by the organist of the cathedral Emanuele Vianelli.

Private

Andrea Bocelli with Veronica Berti during his 2008 tour of Asia

Due to an illness of Bocelli's mother during her pregnancy with her eldest son, doctors advised her to have an abortion, but she decided against it.

An anecdote from Bocelli's early life is that the mother is said to have discovered her son's passion for music in a hospital in Pisa. He is said to have stopped crying when opera music was played in the next room and concentrated intensely on this music.

In 1998, Bocelli was featured in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People . Bocelli met his first wife, Enrica, while singing in a bar and married her on June 27, 1992 in the Church of San Leonardo in his hometown. Andrea Bocelli has two sons (Amos, born 1995, and Matteo , born 1997) with her. The marriage was divorced in 2002. Since then, Bocelli has been in a relationship with Veronica Berti. Bocelli lives with her today in the lake town of Forte dei Marmi . Andrea and Veronica Berti were married on March 21, 2014 in Livorno , Italy.

On April 30, 2000, Bocelli's father, Sandro Bocelli, died. The following day, Bocelli had a concert in front of the Pope. Bocelli's mother asked him to come to the funeral after the concert. He also complied with this request.

On August 11, 2003, a piece of the Adriatic coast was named after the singer.

Two years later, Bocelli said in the Berliner Morgenpost that he would put himself on a strict diet before concerts. "A whole week is then only practiced, there is no wine, no sun, nothing at all."

In 2006, Bocelli initiated the construction of a theater near his hometown Lajatico, which he called Teatro del Silenzio and only uses one night a year for his concerts. One night in July is always scheduled for a concert, the rest of the year, as the name of the theater suggests, there is silence.

In addition to his native Italian , he is fluent in English , French , German and Spanish .

Trivia

The asteroid (21891) Andreabocelli was named after him on December 28, 2008 .

reception

Vivien Schweitzer, who also wrote an article about his concert in December 2007 in the United States, writes that Bocelli's popularity with his fans is very great. She suspects that the origin of this affection is his kindness ( gentle ) and warmth ( heartfelt ), with which he wins over the audience. Because of this affection, he couldn't go wrong ( Mr. Bocelli can do no wrong ).

Despite its worldwide popularity, Bocelli received bad reviews from The New York Times and The Guardian for " uneven tone and lack of technique ". "Technically, Bocelli has difficulties with fast passages, which he often grinds over rather than really articulating," notes Andreas Dorschel . As an example, Dorschel points out that on his Verdi album (2000) Bocelli expresses himself around the trill in Manrico's “Ah sì, ben mio” from the third act of Verdi's Il Trovatore . Bocelli also has a hard time with top notes. The final culmination tone of “Possente amor” from the second act of Rigoletto comes in the recording on the Verdi album, so Dorschel, “close to yelp”.

Anthony Tommasini wrote in the New York Times in 1999 that Bocelli had a warm voice, but his high notes were weak and his breathing technique was not fully developed, so that he was forced to end the notes earlier than intended in the respective piece is. In December 2000, too, Bocelli did not receive any positive criticism from Tommasi for his participation in the opera La Bohème . Tommasi wrote again that Bocelli was lacking in the basics. His voice was recorded in such a way that the qualitative difference to the other singers was as little audible as possible.

Anne Midgette of the New York Times wrote that Bocelli had "a thinness of voice". She compared Bocelli with Pavarotti, who both sang the aria Cielo e mar . Bocelli is said to have interpreted the piece “squeezed”, whereas Pavarotti “sounded” (“ringing”).

On January 14, 2001, a small article in the New York Times stated that after Tommasini's criticism there had been a lively reader discussion in which opinions were said to have split over Bocelli's talent. The author of the article made it clear that Bocelli “has talent and he has courage; he's handsome and he's vulnerable; he is emotional and he has high artistic standards. It is nothing less than a phenomenon that we love and admire and for which we are grateful. ”(“ He has talent, and he has courage; he is handsome, and he is vulnerable; he is emotional, and he has high artistic standards. He is nothing less than a phenomenon, whom we love and admire and to whom we are grateful. ”).

Shortly after the publication of the opera Tosca , Anne Midgette of The New York Times wrote that the recording of La Bohème had not sold nearly as well as his most successful albums. Bocelli was confronted with this difference in a German interview. He revealed that what means most to him, opera, would have the least appeal to the general public, but accepted it.

In September 2004 Thomas Quasthoff made derogatory comments about Bocelli by describing his music as “poor”. In connection with Bocelli's music, Quasthoff said clearly: "This gives me pimples."

Celine Dion, who said, “If God had a voice, it would sound like Andrea Bocelli”, expressed the opposite.

The newspaper Der Westen wrote in an online edition that Bocelli is criticized by critics "with good reason", but it cannot be denied that he has now become one of the most popular singers in the crossover field.

Immediately after Pavarotti's death in September 2007, the website canada.com wrote that Bocelli was a main favorite (“key contender”) to succeed the maestro. Bocelli, however, replied that Pavarotti was "unique" and that for this reason imitation was out of the question for him.

Giorgio de Martino wrote in 2008 on Andrea Bocelli's homepage that he was a “legend for the new millennium”.

Spiegel Online criticized Bocelli enormously in June 2008. Kai Luehrs-Kaiser wrote that classical music does benefit from new stars, but he excludes Bocelli from this group, as this spoils all standards. Luehrs-Kaiser regards Bocelli as "hideous". Bocelli describes himself, however, as “a modern but old-fashioned tenor”.

Mirko Bott said in October 2008 that Bocelli's success can be explained by the fact that he is well received by the audience due to his physical infirmity (“who manages not to fall into the orchestra pit when he goes on stage”).

Udo Badelt wrote in Der Tagesspiegel in May 2009 that Bocelli's performance in the Berlin Opera on May 23 was disappointing because his voice remained “small, timid and static”. Bocelli is also said to have had problems with the high notes. Baldelt suspects that Bocelli has a “pity factor” due to his blindness and that this might explain the “Bocelli hype”. Cathy Jordan of the New York Times also speculates with this thought, because she writes that it would be impossible for her colleague Tommasini to understand what “moves and thrills” the many fans of Bocellis. She deduces from this that the opera is “contaminated” the moment Bocelli begins to sing. Anyone who supports Bocelli will ensure “sullying” his artistic reputation. Jordan, on the other hand, saw no reason to speak of pollution after hearing the recordings of La Bohème . However, when asked about his blindness, Bocelli said: "Almost everyone has a handicap, mine is to be blind."

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placementsTemplate: chart table / maintenance / without sources
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US IT IT
1994 Il Mare Calmo della Sera DE40 (20 weeks)
DE
AT33 (12 weeks)
AT
- - - -
First published: April 18, 1994
Sales: + 50,000
1995 Bocelli DE1
Quadruple platinum
× 4
Quadruple platinum

(98 weeks)DE
AT3
platinum
platinum

(38 weeks)AT
CH1
Quadruple platinum
× 4
Quadruple platinum

(43 weeks)CH
- - -
First published: November 13, 1995
Sales: +3,000,000
Viaggio Italiano DE15th
gold
gold

(28 weeks)DE
AT19 (16 weeks)
AT
CH17th
gold
gold

(7 weeks)CH
UK24
platinum
platinum

(10 weeks)UK
US153
gold
gold

(21 weeks)US
-
First published: 1995
Sales: +1,187,500
1998 Aria: The Opera Album DE6th
gold
gold

(20 weeks)DE
AT5
gold
gold

(15 weeks)AT
CH5
gold
gold

(12 weeks)CH
UK33
gold
gold

(5 weeks)UK
US59
platinum
platinum

(69 weeks)US
-
First published: March 23, 1998
Sales: + 1,860,000
1999 Sogno DE6th
gold
gold

(33 weeks)DE
AT3
gold
gold

(21 weeks)AT
CH1
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(31 weeks)CH
UK4th
platinum
platinum

(42 weeks)UK
US4th
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(72 weeks)US
IT1 (... week)
Template: chart table / maintenance / preliminaryIT
First published: March 22, 1999
Sales: + 5,375,000
Aria Sacre DE3 (11 weeks)
DE
AT2
gold
gold

(12 weeks)AT
CH2
platinum
platinum

(16 weeks)CH
UK20th
platinum
platinum

(12 weeks)UK
US22nd
platinum
platinum

(30 weeks)US
IT1 (... week)
Template: chart table / maintenance / preliminaryIT
First published: November 9, 1999
Sales: + 2,110,000
2000 Verdi DE22 (18 weeks)
DE
AT8 (10 weeks)
AT
CH18th
gold
gold

(21 weeks)CH
UK17th
gold
gold

(10 weeks)UK
US23
gold
gold

(23 weeks)US
IT2 (... weeks)
Template: chart table / maintenance / preliminaryIT
First published: September 11, 2000
Sales: + 770,000
2001 Cieli di Toscana DE3 (20 weeks)
DE
AT4th
gold
gold

(17 weeks)AT
CH8th
platinum
platinum

(15 weeks)CH
UK3
platinum
platinum

(16 weeks)UK
US11
platinum
platinum

(39 weeks)US
IT4 (22 weeks)
IT
First published: October 15, 2001
Sales: + 2,350,000
2002 Sentimento - AT14 (11 weeks)
AT
CH22nd
gold
gold

(10 weeks)CH
UK58
platinum
platinum

(2 weeks)UK
US12
platinum
platinum

(20 weeks)US
IT11 (14 weeks)
IT
First published: November 4th, 2002
Sales: + 2,127,500
2004 Andrea DE41 (12 weeks)
DE
AT19 (14 weeks)
AT
CH12 (16 weeks)
CH
UK19th
gold
gold

(7 weeks)UK
US16
platinum
platinum

(22 weeks)US
IT19 (23 weeks)
IT
First published: November 1, 2004
Sales: + 1,322,500
2006 Amore DE23 (13 weeks)
DE
AT4th
gold
gold

(15 weeks)AT
CH8th
gold
gold

(16 weeks)CH
UK4th
platinum
platinum

(14 weeks)UK
US3
platinum
platinum

(59 weeks)US
IT2 (49 weeks)
IT
First published: February 8, 2006
Sales: + 2,970,000
2008 Incanto DE56 (4 weeks)
DE
AT40 (6 weeks)
AT
CH40 (11 weeks)
CH
UK12
gold
gold

(8 weeks)UK
US8 (22 weeks)
US
IT5 (28 weeks)
IT
First published: October 24, 2008
Sales: + 265,000
2009 My Christmas DE42 (5 weeks)
DE
AT11 (5 weeks)
AT
CH6th
gold
gold

(9 weeks)CH
UK18th
gold
gold

(4 weeks)UK
US2
Double platinum
× 2
Double platinum

(52 weeks)US
IT1
Quadruple platinum
× 4
Quadruple platinum

(43 weeks)IT
First published: November 20, 2009
Sales: + 3,910,000
2011 Notte Illuminata - - - - - -
First release: February 8th, 2011
digital album
2013 Passione DE40 (7 weeks)
DE
AT11 (6 weeks)
AT
CH35 (9 weeks)
CH
UK7th
silver
silver

(9 weeks)UK
US2
gold
gold

(21 weeks)US
IT3
gold
gold

(29 weeks)IT
First published: Jan 25, 2013
Sales: +650,000
2015 Cinema DE60 (3 weeks)
DE
AT45 (4 weeks)
AT
CH33 (4 weeks)
CH
UK3
gold
gold

(15 weeks)UK
US10 (10 weeks)
US
IT4th
gold
gold

(29 weeks)IT
First published: October 23, 2015
Sales: + 250,000
2018 DE10 (16 weeks)
DE
AT10 (11 weeks)
AT
CH10 (17 weeks)
CH
UK1
gold
gold

(… Where.)Template: chart table / maintenance / preliminary / 2018UK
US1 (10 weeks)
US
IT6th
gold
gold

(… Where.)Template: chart table / maintenance / preliminary / 2018IT
First published: October 26, 2018
Sales: + 165,000

Known songs

Awards

  • 1994: Nuove Proposte, the part of the hit festival in Sanremo for newcomers with the highest possible score
  • 1995: 4th place in the main competition in Sanremo with " Con te partirò "
  • 1995: Gold record for "Il Mare Calmo della Sera"
  • 1997: Bambi for classical music
  • 1997: ECHO Klassik for best seller of the year
  • 1997: Echo rock / pop single national for Time to Say Goodbye
  • 1998: Special ECHO
  • 1998: Crystal apple of the city of New York, the symbol of the city
  • ECHO-Klassik for "Viaggio Italiano"
  • 1998: World Music Award for "Best Italian Singer" and "Best Classical Performer"
  • 1998: Special ECHO
  • 1999: Golden Globe for The Prayer
  • 1999: Oscar nomination for The Prayer
  • 2000: ECHO for the Sacred Arias album
  • 2000: Entry in the Guinness Book of Records because at the same time it occupies the first three places in the American charts ("Sacred Arias", "Aria-The Opera Album", "Viaggio Italiano")
  • 2000: Golden Europe Classic
  • 2000: Classical BRIT Award for Sacred Arias
  • 2002: Golden Camera
  • 2002: Classical BRIT Award
  • 2003: ECHO Klassik bestseller Sentimento
  • 2003: Classical BRIT Award for Album of the Year (Sentimento)
  • 2003: Classical BRIT Award for Best Selling Classical Album (Sentimento)
  • 2006: World Music Award for best Italian singer
  • 2006: Grande Ufficiale Ordine al merito della Repubblica ItalianaGrande ufficiale OMRI BAR.svg
  • 2007: Premio Barocco for Italian Music worldwide
  • 2008: Telegatto Award for Italian Music worldwide
  • 2009: Four-time diamond status for the Incanto album due to 1.5 million copies sold in four months
  • 2009: Orden del Mérito de Duarte, Sánchez y Mella
  • 2009: Premio Faraglioni
  • 2010: Own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • 2010: World Music Awards for Best Classical Artist
  • 2015: Prize "Art, Science and Peace"

literature

  • Andrea Bocelli: La mia musica . Ullstein Verlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-548-35997-3 ( Ullstein 35997).
  • Antonio Felix: Andrea Bocelli. A musical portrait . Hannibal, Höfen 2000, ISBN 3-85445-181-4 .

Web links

Commons : Andrea Bocelli  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. International sales of Bocellis until November 2012
  2. Sales information on the occasion of the published best-of album Bocellis 2007 ( Memento from November 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. Interview. contracostatimes.com
  4. La mia musica , Bocelli 2000, p. 212 f.
  5. Bocelli and the Opera
  6. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, p. 92
  7. Bocelli ready to hit high notes . ( Memento from May 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Interview with Bocelli
  8. Andrea Bocelli . Felix 2000, p. 93 f.
  9. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, p. 97
  10. La mia musica , Bocelli 2000, p. 287
  11. Short treatise of his curriculum vitae ( Memento from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  12. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, p. 128 ff.
  13. Bocelli's announcement in China on the occasion of his Asia tour in 2008 ( Memento from April 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  14. The most beautiful cuddle songs. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 6, 2010 ; accessed on November 10, 2016 .
  15. ^ Letter to the editor shortly after Bocelli's appearance with Sarah Brightman for Henry Maskes' farewell match
  16. Data for the album Romanza in the Dutch charts
  17. Announcement of Bocellis' German tour in the Ärzteblatt 1997
  18. La mia musica , Bocelli 2000, pp. 318f.
  19. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, pp. 141 ff.
  20. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, p. 152 ff.
  21. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, p. 208
  22. Album data for Sogno on Amazon
  23. Information on Sogno in Bocelli's biography on the 2008 Olympic Games page ( memento of April 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  24. Bocelli's biography at MTV
  25. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, pp. 165 ff.
  26. Information on the original content of the opera La Bohème and the interpretation with the group around Bocelli
  27. Bocelli's biography with a focus on his career ( Memento from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  28. ^ Report on the BRIT Awards from 2002 at KlassikAkzente
  29. Short article about the tour in England Bocellis with his album Sentimento
  30. Article in KlassikAkzente about Bocelli's appearance in the show Wetten, dass ...!? in March 2003
  31. Quincy Jones' big benefit concert in Rome
  32. ^ Newspaper report on the program of the 50th Puccini Festival ( Memento from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  33. Program preview for the show Die Hit Giganten - The Christmas Special
  34. ^ Report on the donation income from the program Die Hit Giganten - The Christmas Special on the Berliner Morgenpost website
  35. Past Concerts ( Memento from November 10, 2016 in the web archive archive.today )
  36. ^ Concert for a heart for children
  37. Short interview for the English newspaper The Guardian , especially about Bocelli's stage fright
  38. Press release on Bocelli's performance in Prague ( Memento from June 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  39. Universal sales figures on the KlassikAkzente website
  40. a b Andrea Bocelli - Wedding with Christina Aguilera? ( Memento from December 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  41. ^ Announcement of Bocelli's visit in Götz Alsmann's broadcast
  42. ^ Teatro del Silenzio, la magia si ripete. Repubblica.it, July 29, 2015, accessed November 10, 2016.
  43. New York Times newspaper review of Bocelli's concert in the United States
  44. Communication on the development of the Universal Music Group's sales in the third quarter of 2006
  45. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes got married ( memento from September 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )}
  46. Bocelli's biography at VIP Tickets
  47. Bocelli's biography at VIP Tickets (tagesschau.de archive)
  48. ^ Message on the Tagesschau page on the death of Luciano Pavarotti
  49. Bocelli as a musical guest at the Rome Film Festival
  50. Interview about Bocelli's music and his stage fright when performing
  51. Extensive interview with Bocelli and David Foster about playback, stage fright and the role of the audience in his career
  52. Bocellis appears at Wetten, dass ...?
  53. Presentation of his new album Incanto and the collaboration with Veronica Berti
  54. http://www.mdr.de/brisant/promi-klatsch/5858718.html (link not available)
  55. criticism the album Incanto in the Ruhr Nachrichten ( Memento of 10 November 2016 Internet Archive )
  56. Bocelli's performance with Cecilia Bartoli on the occasion of the ECHO Awards 2008 ( Memento from November 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  57. Product presentation beu abella ( Memento from January 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  58. Most successful albums, listed in The New York Times
  59. Bocelli's open letter to his fans due to the canceled performance of Faust in March 2009 in Palermo
  60. Bocelli's premiere in Abu Dhabi on March 27, 2009 ( Memento from December 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  61. ^ Report on Bocelli on the occasion of his appearance in Abu Dhabi
  62. Bocelli's award in the Dominican Republic at the end of April 2009
  63. ^ Announcement for Bocelli's appearance at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin
  64. ^ Concert for the benefit of the earthquake victims in the Colloseum
  65. ^ Voices on the run-up to the concert in Rome for the earthquake victims in L'Aquila
  66. ^ Report on the concert in Rome
  67. ↑ Funeral service in Viareggio on the occasion of the train accident
  68. Summary of the process during the concert in the Teatro del Silenzio 2009
  69. ^ Tabular preview of the program of the Classic Open in Leipzig for the year 2009 ( Memento from July 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  70. First information about the album My Christmas
  71. Information about the planned Bocellis album, which should be released in November 2009
  72. Chart positions and song list of the album Mi Navidad
  73. http://www.ilvelino.it/articolo.php?Id=1024732 (link not available)
  74. United States sales in 2009, by artist
  75. Bocelli and Blige sing Bridge over Troubled Water for the victims of the Haiti earthquake
  76. Bocelli's appearance at Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest in February 2010
  77. Product presentation by Andrea Chénier at KlassikAkzente
  78. Star for Andrea Bocelli on the Walk of Fame on March 2, 2010
  79. Bocellis was awarded a star in Hollywood
  80. Main page of the Expo 2010 in China
  81. Article on the opening of the Expo in China from the Epoch Times
  82. Opening of the Expo in China
  83. ^ Bocelli's appearances in Southeast Asia in May 2010
  84. ^ Bocelli's concerts in Southeast Asia in 2010
  85. Appearance in Palm Valley in May 2010 ( Memento from May 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  86. World Music Awards 2010
  87. Video with Bocelli speaking out against abortion
  88. Bocelli's appearance at the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa ( Memento from December 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  89. In a minute: Andrea Bocelli ( Memento from September 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  90. ^ Release of the album Carmen: Duetts and Arias
  91. Review by Joe Banno in the Washington Post of the album Carmen: Duetts and Arias
  92. “Perfect Symphony”: Ed Sheeran sings in Italian with tenor Andrea Bocelli
  93. https://www.pfaelzischer-merkur.de/welt/kultur/kultur-ticker/giora-feidman-und-andrea-bocelli-im-livestream_aid-49999131
  94. https://www.pfaelzischer-merkur.de/welt/kultur/kultur-ticker/giora-feidman-und-andrea-bocelli-im-livestream_aid-49999131
  95. ^ Star tenor Andrea Bocelli campaigns for disabled children
  96. La mia musica , Bocelli 2000, p. 11f.
  97. Andrea Bocelli , Felix 2000, p. 68
  98. Star tenor Andrea Bocelli dares again. In: The world. March 22, 2014
  99. ^ Bocelli's preparations for a concert
  100. ^ Tommasini's review of the piece Werther , with Bocelli in the leading role of the same name
  101. a b c Andreas Dorschel : The World's Favorite Tenor . In: Lettre International , No. 120, Spring 2018, pp. 136-137, p. 136.
  102. Andrea Bocelli, Verdi , Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, CD Decca 464 600-2
  103. ^ Anthony Tommasini: MUSIC; Bocelli Seeks Legitimacy (And Bucks) In 'Boheme' , New York Times . December 3, 2000. Retrieved January 22, 2008. 
  104. criticism in The New York Times about Bocelli, who at the opera in 2003 Tosca collaborated
  105. ^ A Phenomenon - Bocelli The New York Times
  106. Interview with Professor Thomas Quasthoff in the Spiegel about Potts and Bocelli
  107. Andrea Bocelli turns 50 ( Memento from December 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  108. ^ The West: Andrea Bocelli - One of the Most Popular , September 21, 2008
  109. canada.com: Bocelli ready to hit high notes ( Memento of May 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), November 8, 2007
  110. Andrea Bocelli - American Airlines Center, Wednesday, December 5, 2018. In: attpac.org. August 1, 2017, accessed January 24, 2019 .
  111. ^ Statement by Luehrs-Kaiser in the Spiegel on Bocelli's singing
  112. Bocellis was awarded one star on the Walk of Fame
  113. ^ Tenor with a festival format
  114. Critique of Bocelli in the Tagesspiegel
  115. Jordan's positive criticism in The New York Times about Bocelli's collaboration in La Bohème
  116. Bocelli's comment on his blindness
  117. La mia musica , Bocelli 2000, p. 319
  118. ^ Reporting by Der Spiegel magazine on the ECHO awards
  119. Entry in the Guinness Book of Records for Bocelli's chart placements ( Memento from May 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  120. ^ Announcement of the winner Andrea Bocelli for the Telegato Award
  121. Quatro disco di diamante
  122. ^ Assegnato Ad Andrea Bocelli Il Prestigioso Premio Faraglioni 2009.
  123. Andrea Bocelli: The Hollywood Walk of Fame. In: hwof.com. March 3, 2010, accessed January 24, 2019 .
  124. Pier Franco Marcenaro Awards 2015 . December 5, 2015. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016.