Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli is an Italian tenor and singer-songwriter who became one of the world's best-selling classical crossover artists. Blending operatic technique with popular ballads, he reached global audiences with recordings that bridged the classical and pop markets, most famously the song "Con te partiro" and its English-language adaptation "Time to Say Goodbye."

Early life

Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958, in Lajatico, a small town in the Tuscan countryside, where his family ran a farm and sold agricultural machinery and wine. He was born with congenital glaucoma and lost his sight completely at the age of twelve following an accident during a football game. He showed an early aptitude for music, learning the piano and other instruments, and went on to study law at the University of Pisa, briefly working as a lawyer before committing fully to a singing career.

Career

Bocelli took singing lessons and performed in piano bars while pursuing his vocal training, including study with the tenor Franco Corelli. He gained wider attention in Italy in the early 1990s and his profile rose sharply with the album Romanza, which included "Con te partiro." A duet version with the soprano Sarah Brightman, titled "Time to Say Goodbye," became an enormous international hit and helped define the classical crossover genre. He recorded both pop-oriented albums and full operatic roles, and released sacred and seasonal collections such as Sacred Arias.

Recent work

Over the following decades Bocelli sustained a major international concert and recording career, performing at large public events, sporting ceremonies and benefit concerts around the world. His later albums include Si, which topped charts in several countries, and he has frequently recorded duets with pop, classical and crossover artists. He has performed widely with his son Matteo Bocelli, who has pursued his own singing career, and his daughter Virginia has joined him on stage and on record. Bocelli also organizes an annual concert in his native Tuscany and supports charitable work through the Andrea Bocelli Foundation, continuing to tour and record as one of the most recognizable voices in popular classical music. Bocelli has recorded a long series of best-selling albums, including Sogno, Cieli di Toscana, Amore and the holiday collection My Christmas, and he has sold tens of millions of records worldwide. Alongside his crossover work he has performed full operatic roles on stage and on record in works such as La boheme and Tosca. His many duets include "The Prayer" with Celine Dion, and he has collaborated with a wide range of pop and classical artists across his career, helping to introduce operatic singing to mainstream audiences around the world.