He is without doubt the most beloved Italian voice in the world of the last 15 years, especially internationally, where people compete to buy his records and everyone appreciates him. Andrea Bocelli was born in Lajatico, Tuscany, in 1958. He fell in love with opera at a very young age and by six was already grappling with the difficult study of the piano, over which his small hands nevertheless ran willingly and with ease. Not content with that, he also took up the flute and the saxophone, in search of an ever deeper expression of music. His idols were Mario Del Monaco, Beniamino Gigli and, above all, Franco Corelli. After finishing high school, he enrolled in law at the University of Pisa, where he graduated, always careful, however, not to neglect his singing studies. Indeed, so serious was his commitment that he ended up taking lessons from a sacred monster of the twentieth century, that Franco Corelli who is the tenor idol of many opera lovers. In 1992 came the stroke of luck that changed Bocelli's life: Zucchero, looking for a tenor to sing the operatic part of "Miserere" in the demo to be sent to Luciano Pavarotti, chose him. Soon Michele Torpedine, already Zucchero's manager, began looking after the prodigious young Tuscan talent as well, and the first result came with the record contract binding Bocelli to Caterina Caselli's Sugar label. In 1993 he took part in the Sanremo Festival for the first time, winning it in the Newcomers category.
EXCLUSIVE CONTEST
The contest runs until 8.11.2023. The draw follows in the days after the end of the contest.
In 1994 he took part in the Sanremo Festival again, among the Big names, with "Il mare calmo della sera", achieving a record score. His first album, bearing the song's title, confirmed his rapidly growing popularity: within a few weeks it earned its first platinum record, but the real market for Bocelli turned out to be the international one. It was there that the Tuscan tenor triumphed with "Con te partirò", presented at Sanremo in 1995 and also sung in English in the duet with Sarah Brightman "Time to say goodbye", a sales record in many countries, while the albums won awards across Europe. In France the single stayed at the top of the charts for six weeks, earning three gold records; in Belgium it was number one for 12 weeks: the biggest hit of all time. The album "Bocelli" then earned no fewer than four platinum records in Germany, four in the Netherlands and two in Italy. "Romanza" is the 1996 album that sealed his international debut, going on to sell over 15 million copies, with the international press recognising in the Tuscan tenor a popularity worthy of Enrico Caruso. Two albums of classical material followed: "Viaggio italiano", inspired by the emigrants and artists who made Italian opera popular around the world, and then the album "Aria". In 1999 the record "Sogno" marked the return to pop. In the United States people spoke of "Bocellimania", with the artist having four albums in the charts at the same time and a sold-out tour. In 1999 "Sacred Arias" became the best-selling classical album by a soloist of all time. Meanwhile, alongside the tours, offers to perform operas poured in, an aspiration he had nurtured since childhood and which the tenor finally realised. In 2000, after singing in the Vatican before the Pope for the Jubilee, Bocelli released his fourth classical album, "Verdi", followed by the recording of his first complete opera, "La Bohème". In 2001 came his pop album "Cieli di Toscana" while, three years later, Bocelli released "Andrea", a pop album crowded with guests, including Mario Reyes and Amedeo Minghi. Then came 2006, the year in which the artist was also made a Grand Officer of the Italian Republic. He then released "Amore", another album of 14 historic tracks with songs such as "Les feuilles mortes" and "Amapola" and prestigious duets with music stars such as Christina Aguilera and Stevie Wonder. From this record comes "Because we believe", sung first at the closing ceremony of the Turin Winter Olympic Games and then at the opening of the Football World Cup in Berlin.
In 2007 he released "The best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere" and in November of the same year won the Best Italian Artist and the World's Best-selling Classical Artist award at the World Music Awards. At the beginning of 2008 he performed at the Grammy Awards together with Josh Groban in a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti. In those years he received numerous accolades both in Italy and abroad. In 2010 he entered the celebrated "Hollywood Walk of Fame" for his contribution to theatre. In 2011 came the new album "Notte illuminata", a collection of famous arias in German, French, Italian and English, released for the first time digitally. In September 2011 he performed in Central Park, New York, in a free concert that gathered more than 60,000 people and became a record and a DVD in November of the same year. In 2012 he received the Premio America of the Italy-USA Foundation and the "Campano d'oro", a curious prize awarded to him as the most famous Pisa graduate in the world. In 2013 came the record "Passione", containing a repertoire that belongs to the history of timeless music. It is made up of eighteen tracks (in the Deluxe version) that Bocelli sings in six different languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and even Neapolitan. The album features international collaborations such as David Foster, Chris Botti, Jennifer Lopez and Nelly Furtado, as well as the duet with Édith Piaf. In 2015 came "Cinema", a tribute to the most beloved soundtracks of all time, including "Doctor Zhivago", "Love Story", "The Godfather", "Life is Beautiful". On 15 December 2017 a new version of Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" was released, sung together with Bocelli and entitled "Perfect Symphony". In June 2018, Bocelli announced the new album entitled "Sì", scheduled for 26 October of the same year. It was the singer's first record in fourteen years to consist entirely of new songs. It features duets with Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Josh Groban and the soprano Aida Garifullina, preceded by the single "If only". Andrea Bocelli is one of the most appreciated Italian artists in the world. Over his very long career he has recorded several operas and no fewer than 16 albums spanning pop and classical music. The artist's life has also been brought to the big screen with the film "The Music of Silence", directed by Michael Radford. His talent and immense skill make him one of the most recognised artists on the world music scene and an emblem of timeless Italian classical culture.
Venue: Hallenstadion, Zurich
Date: Monday 20 November 2023
Time: 8.00 pm
SPAIN
Madrid - 20 September 2023
Madrid - 21 September 2023
GERMANY
Oberhausen - Old date: 25 May 2022, new date: 12 October 2023
Mannheim - Old date: 29 May 2022, new date: 14 October 2023
Leipzig - Old date: 31 May 2022, new date: 17 October 2023
Berlin - Old date: 2 June 2022, new date: 19 October 2023
Klagenfurt - Old date: 4 June 2022, new date: 15 July 2023
AUSTRIA
Vienna - Old date: 3 September 2022, new date: 17 November 2023
SWITZERLAND
Zurich - Old date: 9 September 2022, new date: 20 November 2023
LITHUANIA
Kaunas - 24 November 2023
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