Andrea Bocelli is one of the most famous and popular tenors in the world. This Italian singer, songwriter, and record producer has released many albums, worked alongside well-known singers and released many albums. Here are some facts about this interesting and talented Italian celebrity.
- Andrea Angel Bocelli was born in a village called La Stera in Tuscany on September 22, 1958.
- The fact that he is blind is widely known. Although problems with his eyes began in early childhood and he was diagnosed with glaucoma, it was not this that caused him to lose his sight. It was actually the result of a football accident when he was 12 years old.
- By his teens, he was already showing signs of a promising musical career. At just 14 years old, he won his first competition. He performed a rendition of ‘O Sole Mio’.
- Despite his musical talents, he chose instead to embark on a legal career and studied law at the University of Pisa. However, he continued to sing in bars to earn money while he studied.
- Bocelli’s big break came when Luciano Pavarotti was handed a demo tape of him singing by Zucchero, an Italian rock star. The two opera singers were then invited to perform together on Zucchero’s tour and together they performed ‘Miserere’.
- Pavarotti and Bocelli remained friends and the more experienced performer offer his support to Bocelli. He even invited him to sing at ‘Pavarotti International’, his annual gala concert which he held for charity in Modena.
- In 1994, Bocelli performed for the pope for the first time.
- ‘Time to Say Goodbye’, the duet between Bocelli and Sarah Brightman was first performed in 1996 as the farewell song for Henry Maske, a boxer who was friends with Brightman. This went on to become a huge hit for the pair.
- In 1998, Celine Dion and Bocelli recorded ‘The Prayer’. It became the soundtrack to ‘Quest for Camelot.
- 1998 was clearly a good year as it was also in this year that Andrea Bocelli was named as one of People’s Top 50 Beautiful People.
- Also in 1998, Bocelli made his opera debut in Puccini’s La Bohemeat Teatro Comunale in Cagliari. He played the role of Rodolfo.
- He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 2 2010.
- He is more than just a singer. Together with his brother, he owns a wine label. The wine is made from the grapes grown on his family’s farm.
- In 2012, Bocello was awarded the Best International Artist Award at the Classic BRIT Awards.
- He married his wife, Veronica Berti in 2014. They live together with their children in a former hotel in Forte dei Marmi.
