Name: Andrea Bocelli
Natinality: Italian singer
Date of Birth : 22 September 1958
Height 6' 1??" (1.87 m)
Andrea Bocelli is an Italian pop tenor and crossover artist. Since his debut album Il mare calmo della sera, released in 1994, he has recorded over 22 pop and classical albums, including seven operas.
He was born in Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy, in 1958 about 40 km south of Pisa, in 1958, to parents Alessandro and Edi Bocelli, and grew up on the family farm. Bocelli's parents sold farm machinery and made wine in the tiny village of La Sterza, a frazione of Lajatico. To this day, Bocelli's 70 year old mother Edi and brother Alberto still live in the family home. Bocelli's father died in 2000.
Bocelli is one of the greatest singing talents in the world today. It was evident at birth that he had problems with his sight, and after visits to many doctors Bocelli was diagnosed with glaucoma. In 1970, at the age of 12, he completely lost his sight after an accident during a football game. As a young boy, Bocelli showed a great passion for music. His mother, Edi, has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. At the age of six he started piano lessons, and later also learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums.
Andrea did not begin his singing career until the late 1980s, when he began performing in piano bars throughout Italy. Before then he earned a law degree from the University of Pisa. In 1993 he was signed to a record contract after a scout heard him sing during a party. That was the beginning of a spectacular career, which saw him team with some of the best voices in the business. Andrea has worked with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Sarah Brightman, and has sung for the Pope. Perhaps his best-known hit is "Con Te Partir?? [Time To Say Goodbye]", a duet with Brightman. Bocelli has also done "Vivo Per Lei," which means "I Live For Her". The song has been translated many times, and Bocelli has teamed up with many different singers in the translations. He himself sings the Italian and Spanish versions, and sings in Italian on the French and German versions of the song. H?l??ne S?gara, Marta S??nchez, Sandy and Judy Weiss have all teamed with him on different versions of the song. He has even worked with C?line Dion, teaming up with her for the song "The Prayer."
In 1998, Bocelli was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. He met his first wife Enrica, with whom he had two children, while singing at piano bars early in his career. They were married on 27 June 1992. Their first child, Amos, was born in February 1995. Their second son, Matteo was born in October 1997. The couple divorced in 2002. Soon after, he met fianc?e Veronica Berti, but he does not plan to get married again due to his Roman Catholic beliefs. The couple live in Forte dei Marmi, and Bocelli's ex-wife and two sons live in the couple's previous residence in the same comune, in Versilia.
He captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records, as he simultaneously held the No 1, 2 and 3 position on the US classical album chart.
Bocelli's father, Sandro Bocelli, died on 30 April 2000. His mother encouraged him to honour his commitments and so he sang for the Pope in Rome on 1 May and immediately returned home for the funeral. At his 5 July performance, that was filmed for PBS as American Dream??Andrea Bocelli's Statue of Liberty Concert, Bocelli dedicated the encore Sogno to the memory of his father. A section of the way along the beach in Jesolo, on the Italian Adriatic coast, was named after Bocelli on 11 August 2003.
In 2006, Bocelli influenced the municipality of his hometown Lajatico to build an outdoor theatre, the "Teatro del Silenzio". Bocelli performed for one night only. One night every July the theatre will be opened for performances. The rest of the time it will remain silent. Since the opening he has held 4 concerts, on 27 July 2006, 5 July 2007, 20 July 2008, and on 18 July 2009.
| Like it? Share! |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |