Andrea Bocelli, whose biography, despite his blindness, turned out well, is one of the most popular Italian singers of our time. His award-winning albums have sold 80 million copies worldwide. People who see Bocelli for the first time wonder: what's wrong with his eyes?
The singer, born in 1958 in the Tuscan commune of Lajatico, already in childhood suffered from a hereditary disease - glaucoma, which negatively affected his vision. The child underwent 27 operations, which turned out to be useless. At the age of 6, Bocelli, who was attracted by beautiful music, began playing the piano, and later the saxophone and flute. After being hit in the head by a soccer ball at age 12, he became completely blind. At the same age, the boy won his first competition, performing the song Ole sole mio.
Although it was clear that the guy had musical talent, at the age of 22 he decided to study law and entered the University of Pisa. He worked as a lawyer for only a year. At the same time, the Italian performed songs in a bar and paid for singing lessons with Luciano Bettarini, whose student was also the opera singer Franco Corelli.
Music career
A turning point in Botticelli's life was a joint performance in 1992 with the Italian star Zucchero, who was initially going to sing a song he had written with Luciano Pavarotti. The latter, hearing Andrea's voice, was delighted and decided to help the novice performer. A year later, Andrea went on an international tour with Zucchero. In 1994, the young man won the hit competition in Sanremo in the “Young Performers” category, receiving the most points for the song Il Mare Calmo della Sera.
The Italian became a world celebrity overnight with his performance at Henry Maske's farewell party in 1996. Then Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman sang the hit Time To Say Goodbye as a duet. In the following years, the Italian established himself as an international singer, performing hits and classical works. He performed with Celine Dion and other celebrities. Andrea's photos and interviews were published in various magazines.
In the 2000s, Bocelli mainly sang in operas. He received awards such as “Best Classical Performer in the World” and “Best Italian Singer”. A section of the Adriatic coast was even named after him. The performer stood on stage in the presence of George Bush, Pope John Paul II, the English royal family, and Pope Benedict XVI. In July 2013, a blind Italian received an award from Lions Clubs International.
Family life
Andrea met his first wife, Enrica, while singing in a bar. In 1992 they got married in the Church of San Leonardo in Lajatico. In 1995 and 1997, the wife gave birth to sons Matteo and Amos. After living together for 10 years, the couple divorced. The church only dissolved the marriage in 2009.
In 2014, Andrea Bocelli, who was then 55 years old, married his life partner after living with her for 12 years. They got married in the Italian city of Livorno, in the Montenero monastery. His chosen one, Veronica Berti, whose height and weight the Italian estimates as ideal, is 25 years younger than her husband.
"Andrea was born at 5:10 am on September 22, 1958, weighing 3 kg 600 g - a new joy for his mother and father." So it is written in one of the ordinary children's books, which contain various data and facts about the newborn and several photographs. He doesn't remember his life without his passion for music.
Andrea spent his childhood on a farm in his small native village of Lajatico, in the province of Tuscany. At the age of 6, he began learning to play the piano, and later mastered the flute and saxophone. Suffering from poor vision, he became completely blind at age 12 after an accident. His first passion was the great Italian singers such as Del Monaco, Gigli and, especially, Franco Corelli. For Andrea, absorbed in opera music, the dream and goal of his whole life was the desire to become a great tenor. As a teenager, he won several singing competitions and was a soloist in the school choir. But over time, youthful dreams of a life dedicated to music were questioned and faced with reality.
In 1980, Andrea moved to Pisa to graduate from university there and obtain a lawyer's degree. Despite this, he enjoyed playing in local restaurants, performing songs by singers such as Sinatra, Aznavour and Piaf. From time to time, Andrea tried to realize his dream by performing his favorite opera arias. Having learned that his childhood idol Franco Corelli was in Turin to conduct master classes, Andrea, full of fear, came to the maestro. Corelli, discovering a natural beauty in his voice that reminded him of the quality of a few legendary Tuscan tenors, took the young man as a student. Encouraged, Andrea decided that after initiation the musical life should dominate. His career as a lawyer was ended. Life now consisted of studying music during the day and performing in restaurants at night. The Pisa courts never waited for the young lawyer to return.
1992 - Italian rock star Zucchero is looking for a tenor to prepare a demo recording of the song "Miserere", which he wanted to sing with the great Luciano Pavarotti. After a futile search for
A young man performing in local restaurants came to disobey. Effortlessly and, somewhat inexplicably, he captured the essence of the song. Italian manager Michele Torpedine flew to Philadelphia specifically to show Pavarotti's "Miserere". The great maestro was stunned by the way the singer performed the song, and for a long time could not believe that this voice belonged to an unknown pianist from a restaurant, and not to a talented young tenor.
1993 - Katerina Caselli Zugar, president of the Zugar label (one of the oldest and most successful music companies in the country), heard “Nessun dorma” performed by Andrea at a private party. Full of confidence that he should show his talent to the general public, Katerina invited Andrea to visit her office to listen to an unreleased composition called “Il mare calmo della sera”.
1994 - His debut at the Sanremo Music Festival was a huge success. Andrea received the highest score ever given to a singer in the New Artist category for the song "Il mare calmo della sera". In September 1994, Andrea was personally invited by L. Pavarotti to participate in the Pavarotti International concert in Modena. He performed both alone and in a duet with Luciano himself. The concert also featured Bryan Adams, Andreas Wohlweider, Nancy Gustafsson and Georgia.
Andrea Bocelli has a good reputation in the world of classical music. He took part in many concerts and festivals, including a performance before the Pope on Christmas Eve 1994.
In November 1995, he performed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France with the concert program "Nights of the Proms". He has shared the stage with Ali Jarreau, Bryan Ferry, Supertramp's Roger Hodgson and John Miles, as well as
phonic orchestra and choir. More than 450,000 people attended these concerts, and as a result, the second album "Bocelli" entered the Belgian, Dutch and German charts, where it remained for a very long time. This album went double platinum in Italy, six platinum in Belgium and four times platinum in Germany and the Netherlands. The song "Con te partiro" topped the French hit parade for 6 weeks. In Belgium, the song became the biggest hit of all time, spending 12 weeks at the top of the charts.
The third disc "Romanza" took over the Western part of the world like a storm. It consisted mainly of a selection of pop songs, and the song "Time to Say Goodbye" (a duet with Sarah Brightman) immediately topped the charts, as did "Con te partiro". In Germany, "Time to Say Goodbye" topped the charts for 14 weeks. In France, "Romanza" sold 1,000,000 copies and topped the best albums chart. The album occupied the same position in the charts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. In the UK, where Andrea Bocelli was previously completely unknown, the success of "Romanza" was stunning.
When the fourth album, "Viaggio Italiano", was released in Italy, it sold 300,000 copies within a few months. This recording is a mixture of famous operatic arias and traditional Neopolitan songs, and, to some extent, a tribute to all Italian emigrants.
Although music is central to Andrea's life, he has many other different interests. Even as a child, returning from school, the first thing he did was run to the stables to see the horses. Andrea loves these beautiful and hardy animals very much. His blindness did not prevent him from becoming a pretty good horseman, as well as a chess player and skier
Andrea Bocelli Net Worth, Salary, Cars & Houses
| Estimated Net Worth | 40 million dollars Celebrity Net Worth Revealed: The 55 Richest Actors Alive in 2019! |
| Yearly Salary | N/A SURPRISING: The 10 Best Salaries in Television! |
| Product Endorsements | Starlite |
| Colleagues | Charice Pempengco |
Houses
- Forte dei Marmi house ($6 million) (Swimming Pool Jacuzzi Sauna Home Cinema Home Office)
Cars
- Maserati Quattroporte
Andrea Bocelli: Wife, Dating, Family & Friends
Andrea Bocelli with beautiful, Wife Veronica BertiWho is Andrea Bocelli dating in 2019?
| Relationship status | Married (Since 2002) |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Current Wife of Andrea Bocelli | Veronica Berti |
| Ex-girlfriends or ex-wives | Enrica Bocelli |
| More info | Was previously married and divorced |
| Has any kids? | Yes, father of: Amos Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli, Virginia Bocelli |
Names of father, mother, children, brothers & sisters.
- Alessandro Bocelli (Father)Edi Bocelli (Mother)Amos Bocelli (Son)Matteo Bocelli (Son)Virginia Bocelli (Daughter)
Friends
Skin, Hair & Eye color
This friendly musician originating from Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy has a chubby body & square face type. Andrea Bocelli makes commercials for Andrea Bocelli, but actually uses: Girard Perregaux.
| Hair color | Gray |
| Hair type | Straight |
| Hair Length | near-shaved hair |
| Hairstyle | alternative |
| Distinct feature | hair color |
| Skin Tone/Complexion | Type II: Fair skin |
| Skin Type | Normal |
| Beard or Mustache | Beard, Mustache, |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Does Andrea Bocelli smoke? | No, never CAUGHT SMOKING: The 60 Most Shocking Celebrity Smokers! |
Andrea Bocelli - 2019 Gray hair & alternative hair style.
Height, Weight, Body Measurements, Tattoos & Style
| Height | 187 cm | Weight | 79 kilo | Clothing style | fashionable |
| Favorite colors | black |
| Feet size | 12 |
| Biceps | 31 |
| Waist size | 120 |
| Buste size | 168 |
| Butt size | 138 |
| Does Andrea Bocelli have a tattoo? | No Official websites/fansites: www.andreabocelli.com Does Andrea Bocelli have official Social Media profiles? |
Website: http://www.liveinternet.ru
Andrea Bocelli is a blind singer with the most beautiful voice in the world:
“MUSIC IS MY LIFE...”
“I was born on September 22, 1958 in the Tuscan village of Lajatico, near Volterra. Under the influence of religious principles, as well as inspired by the example of my parents, I learned not to submit to the blows of fate, but to try to strengthen my strength in confronting them.
As far as I can remember, absolutely every moment of my life was filled with a passionate love for music. The greatest tenors of Italy - among them Del Monaco, Gigli, and most of all Corelli - have always aroused my great admiration and inspired me when I was still very young. Burning with a love for opera, I devoted my entire life to the dream of becoming a great tenor.
Despite the fact that I live in a changing world, I calmly accept everything that life presents to me: I enjoy the simplest things and readily accept any challenge of fate. I always try to remain optimistic, following the true meaning of the statement of the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “We only truly see with our hearts. The essence of things is invisible to our eyes."
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli - a modern tenor, but of the old school
The Italian opera singer was born in 1958 in Lagiatico, in the province of Tuscany. Despite his blindness, he became one of the most memorable voices of modern opera and pop music. Bocelli is equally good at performing classical repertoire and pop ballads.
Andrea Bocelli grew up on a farm in the small village of Lajatico. At the age of 6 he began learning to play the piano, and later mastered the flute and saxophone. Suffering from poor vision, he became completely blind at age 12 after an accident. Despite his obvious musical talents, Bocelli did not consider music as a future career until he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Pisa and received his doctorate. Only then did Bocelli begin to seriously study his voice with the famous tenor Franco Corelli, simultaneously earning money for piano lessons in various groups.
Bocelli's first breakthrough as a singer came in 1992, when Zucchero Fornaciari was looking for a tenor to record a demo of the song "Miserere", which he wrote with U2's Boni. Having successfully passed the selection, Bocelli recorded the composition in a duet with Pavarotti.
After a worldwide tour with Fornaciari in 1993, Bocelli performed at the charity Pavarotti International Festival, which was held in Modena in September 1994.
In addition to Pavarotti, Bocelli also sang with Bryan Adams, Andreas Vollenweider and Nancy Gustafson. In November 1995, Bocelli traveled to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France with the production of "Night Of Proms", which also featured Bryan Ferry, Al Jarre and John Mays.
Bocelli's first two albums, Andrea Bocelli (1994) and Bocelli (1996), featured only his opera singing, while the third disc, Viaggio Italiano, featured famous opera arias and traditional Neapolitan songs. Although the CD was released only in Italy, it sold more than 300 thousand copies there. The fourth album, "Romanza" (1997), featured pop material, including the hit "Time To Say Goodbye", recorded in a duet with Sarah Brightman, which was a great success.
After this, Bocelli continued to develop a profitable pop direction, releasing his fifth album, Sogno, in 1999, which included a duet with Celine Dion, “The Prayer.”
Released as a single, this song sold 10 million copies in the United States alone. For her performance, Bocelli received a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best New Artist" category. The last album "Ciele di Toscana" was released in 2001.
Andrea Bocelli - sole singer, who managed to merge pop music and opera: “He sings songs like opera and opera like songs.”
This may sound insulting, but the result is quite the opposite: a huge number of adoring fans. And among them are not only teenagers dressed in rumpled T-shirts, but also endless lines of businesswomen and housewives and dissatisfied employees and managers in double-breasted jackets who ride the subway with a laptop computer on their laps and a Bocelli CD in their player. Twenty-four million CDs sold on five continents is no joke even for those accustomed to counting in billions of dollars.
Everyone likes the Italian, whose voice can mix melodrama with a song from San Remo. In Germany, the country that discovered it in 1996, it is constantly present in the charts. In the US, he is the subject of a cult: President Bill Clinton, who knows the score for the film "Kansas City" by heart, calls himself among Bocelli's admirers. And he wanted Bocelli to sing at the White House and at the Democratic meeting.
Soon the Pope drew attention to the talented musician. The Holy Father recently received Bocelli at his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, to hear him perform the Jubilee 2000 anthem. And he released this hymn into the world with a blessing.
But the real Bocelli phenomenon flourishes not in Italy, where singers who sing easy-to-whistle songs and romances are scarce, but in the United States. “Dream”, his new CD, which has already become a bestseller in Europe, is in first place in popularity overseas.
And let it not be said that Bocelli owes his success to the widespread good nature and desire to protect him, caused by his blindness. Of course, the fact of being blind plays a role in this story. But the fact remains: I like his voice. “He has a very beautiful timbre. And since Bocelli sings in Italian, the audience gets a feeling of being part of the culture. Culture for the masses. This is what makes them feel good,” Lisa Altman, vice president of Philips, explained some time ago Bocelli is Italian and, especially, Tuscan.
This is one of his strengths: he presents a culture that is popular and refined at the same time. The sounds of Bocelli's voice are so gentle that they evoke in the mind of every American a room with a beautiful view, the hills of Fiesole, the hero of the film "The English Patient", the stories of Henry James.
Following the 5th annual Los Angeles Italian Film and Fashion Art Festival, held from February 28, 2010 at Mann's Chinese Theater Complex, a Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame was awarded.
Andrea Bocelli - Italian opera singer, awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Andrea Bocelli's star is the two thousand four hundred and second star on the Alley.
2402nd Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
In his free time, Bocelli retires to a secluded corner and reads “War and Peace” using his computer with a Braille keyboard. He wrote an autobiography. The temporary title is “The Music of Silence” (copyright sold to Warner by Italian publishing house Mondadori for $500,000).
Success is determined more by Bocelli's personality than by his voice. He is endowed with extraordinary courage: he skis, goes in for horseback riding, and won the most important battle: despite blindness and unexpected success (this can also be a disadvantage), he managed to lead a normal life.
Bocelli's voice, sounding organically in works that combine seemingly incompatible musical directions - classical opera and popular music, delights people of all ages and social backgrounds all over the world.
Andrea Bocelli is recognized as one of the best tenors of our time. His ability to sing operatic repertoire as if he were singing songs, and songs as if they were arias from operas, brought him worldwide fame and the love of the public. He is rightfully considered the popularizer of opera music. Thanks to Andrea Bocelli, thousands of people discovered classical music and felt its beauty.
As a musician, Andrea Bocelli did not become famous until he was 34 years old. Moreover, he did not particularly think about a career as a singer and musician. On his life's path he faced many obstacles. The very first thing - and the worst thing, perhaps - is his blindness.
Andrea Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958 in the small Italian village of Laiotico in Tuscany. Since childhood, the boy had serious vision problems. Doctors diagnosed him with glaucoma. The parents were exhausted and did everything possible to save their son’s sight. Andrea underwent 27 operations, but there was no improvement. When the boy was 12 years old, all attempts to restore his vision were dashed by an accident - due to an accidental hit to the head with a ball while playing football, a brain hemorrhage occurred, and Bocelli was completely blind.
Since childhood, the child discovered a talent for music. Already at the age of 6, Bocelli could play the piano, and later learned to play the flute and saxophone. The boy was absorbed in music, and especially opera. He developed a pleasant voice, and as a child Bocelli was a local celebrity, winning several youth vocal competitions and being a soloist in the school choir.
Italy has given the world many wonderful singers, artists, and musicians. The ability to sing in Italy is not a very rare gift, and, of course, not all young talents become world famous. Probably, Andrea Bocelli was guided by these considerations when he decided to enter the Faculty of Law at the University of Pisa. During the day the young man studied, and in the evenings he worked in restaurants playing the flute and saxophone, and then singing. One day, having learned that his childhood idol Franco Corelli had come to a neighboring town to conduct master classes, Bocelli went to see the maestro. Hearing the young man sing, Corelli realized that he had a rare gift in front of him, and took Bocelli as a student. After graduating in 1980 with a law degree, Bocelli continued studying music and performing in restaurants. He never began his legal career.
The next 12 years were not marked by anything remarkable. The future great singer continued to earn extra money in restaurants by playing the piano and singing.
In 1992, Italian rock star Zucchero planned to sing the song "Miserere" with Luciano Pavarotti. Before recording the original, it was necessary to sing a demo version. For this purpose, a competitive selection of tenor singers was organized. Andrea Bocelli came to the audition. Inexplicably, he immediately captured the essence and soul of the song, without any effort. When the recording was given to Luciano Pavarotti to listen to, for a long time he could not believe that this voice belonged not to a professional singer, but to an unknown pianist from a restaurant.
Thus began Andrea Bocelli's rise to the world stage. Throughout 1992, he toured with the song "Miserere", often replacing Pavarotti at performances. In 1994, he won the Sanremo Festival in the New Artist category, receiving the highest rating.
Andrea Bocelli performed with many world stars: Luciano Pavarotti, Celine Dion, Ali Jarreau, Sarah Brightman and others. But most importantly, he was able to instill in the hearts of a wide range of people a love for the classical operatic repertoire. This is evidenced by the huge circulation of his albums and popularity in the charts. Everyone falls in love with the opera performed by him, even those who are very far from classical music.
Until now, the singer has a busy touring schedule. In February 2017 alone, he plans to visit several cities in the USA and Europe: Orlando, Miami, Duluth, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm.
Perhaps his blindness played a certain role in Andrea Bocelli's dizzying success. Still, this is a very terrible illness, and people sympathized with him and tried to help. But, of course, this alone is not enough to become a celebrity admired by millions of people.
The singer himself believes in fate, but understands it not as predestination, but as a series of actions that lead to one or another result. “I believe that every person has a destiny, a path that he is destined to take through life. There are obstacles along the way, and a person must make choices and decisions. The choice is ours whether to make the right decisions along the way. We will have complete freedom of choice in making decisions, but we cannot change the direction of our path or rewind time.”.