Andrea Bocelli: biography, personal life, creativity, photo. Andrea Bocelli - the blind singer with the most beautiful voice in the world

"Andrea was born at 5.10 am on September 22, 1958, weight 3 kg 600 g - a new joy for his mom and dad." 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 does not remember his life without a passion for music.

Andrea spent his childhood on a farm in his native small village of Lajatico, in the province of Tuscany. At the age of 6, he began to learn to play the piano, and later mastered the flute and saxophone. Suffering from insufficient eyesight, he became completely blind at the age of 12 after an accident. His first hobbies were great Italian singers such as Del Monaco, Gigli and especially Franco Corelli. For Andrea, absorbed in opera music, the dream and goal of his entire life was the desire to become a great tenor. As a teenager, he won several song competitions, and was also a soloist in the school choir. But over time, youthful dreams of a life devoted to music were questioned and faced with reality.

In 1980, Andrea left for Pisa to graduate there and receive a law 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. Upon learning that the idol of his childhood, Franco Corelli, was in Turin to conduct master classes, Andrea, full of fear, came to the maestro. Corelli, discovering in his voice a natural beauty that reminded him of the quality of the few legendary Tuscan tenors, took young man to pupils. Encouraged, Andrea decided that after the initiation music life should dominate. The career of a lawyer was terminated. Life now consisted of studying music during the day and performing in restaurants at night. The Pisa courts never saw the return of the young lawyer.

1992 - Italian rock star Zucchero is looking for a tenor to prepare a demo recording of the song "Miserere", which he wanted to sing along with the great Luciano Pavarotti. After a vain search on the pr

disobeying came a young man serving at local restaurants. Effortlessly and partly inexplicably, he captured the essence of the song. Italian manager Michele Torpedine flew to Philadelphia 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 the 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 country) at a private party heard "Nessun dorma" performed by Andrea. Fully confident that he should show his talent to the general public, Caterina invited Andrea to visit her office to listen to an unreleased song entitled "Il mare calmo della sera".

1994 - His debut at music festival in San Remo was a huge success. Andrea received the highest rating 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 take part in the Pavarotti International concert in Modena. He performed both alone and in a duet with Luciano himself. Brian Adams, Andreas Wolweider, Nancy Gustafsson and Georgia also took part in the concert.

Andrea Bocelli has good reputation in the world classical music... He has taken 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 concert program"Nights of the Proms". He shared the stage with Ali Jarro, Brian Ferry, Supertramp's Roger Hodgson and John Miles, as well as Sim

phonic orchestra and chorus. More than 450,000 people attended these concerts, and as a result, the second album "Bocelli" hit the Belgian, Dutch and German charts, where it stayed for a very long time. The 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 charts for 6 weeks. In Belgium, the song became the biggest hit of all time, staying at the top of the charts for 12 weeks.

The third disc "Romanza" captured 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 well as "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 chart best albums... The album held the same position in the charters of the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. In Great Britain, where Andrea Bocelli was previously completely unknown, the success of "Romanza" was overwhelming.

When the fourth album "Viaggio Italiano" was released in Italy, within a few months it sold 300,000 copies. This recording is a mixture of well-known opera arias and traditional Neopolitan songs, and, to some extent, a tribute to all Italian emigrants.

While music is central to Andrea's life, he also has many other hobbies. As a child, returning from school, the first thing he did was to run to the stable to the horses. Andrea is very fond of these beautiful and hardy animals. His blindness did not prevent him from becoming a pretty good rider, as well as a chess player and skier.

Italian Opera singer Andrea Bocelli was born in 1958 in Lajatico in the province of Tuscany. Despite his blindness, he has become one of the most memorable voices in contemporary opera and pop music. Bocelli is equally good at performing classical repertoire and pop ballads. He recorded duets with Celine dion, Sarah brightman, Eros Ramazzotti and Al Jarreau. The last singer with him "" The Night Of Proms "" in November 1995, said about Bocelli "" I had the honor to sing with the most beautiful voice in the world"".
Andrea Bocelli grew up on a farm in the small village of Lajatico. At the age of 6, he began to learn to play the piano, and later mastered the flute and saxophone. Suffering from insufficient eyesight, he became completely blind at the age of 12 after an accident. Despite the obvious musical talents, Bocelli did not consider music as his further career until he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Pisa, and received the title of Doctor. Only then did Bocelli begin to seriously study his voice with the famous tenor Franco Gorelli, along the way earning money for piano lessons in various groups.
Bocelli's first breakthrough as a singer came in 1992 when Zucchero (Adelmo Fornacchiari) was looking for a tenor to record a demo of the song "Miserere", which he co-wrote with Bono from U2. Having successfully passed the selection, Bocelli recorded a composition in a duet with Luciano Pavarotti... After a world tour with Fornachiari in 1993, Bocelli performed at the charity "Pavarotti International Festival" held in Modena in September 1994. Besides Luciano Pavarotti, Bocelli also sang with Bryan Adams, Andreas Vollenweider and Nancy Gustavson. In November 1995, Bocelli toured the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France with "Night Of Proms", which also featured Bryan Ferry, Al Jarreau, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp and John Mays.
Bocelli's first two albums "Andrea Bocelli" (1994) and Bocelli (1996) presented only his opera singing and the third disc is Viaggio Italiano, famous opera arias and traditional Neapolitan songs. Although the CD was only released in Italy, it has sold over 300,000 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 that, Bocelli continued to develop the lucrative pop direction, releasing in 1999 the fifth album Sogno, which included a duet with Celine Dion "The Prayer" ". Released as a single, this song sold 10 million copies in the US alone and for its performance Bocelli received the Golden Globe Awards and was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best New Artist" category.

Andrea Bocelli is recognized as one of the best tenors of our time. World renown and the love of the public brought him his ability to sing the operatic repertoire as if he were singing songs, and the songs as if they were arias from operas. He is rightfully considered the popularizer of opera music. Thanks to Andrea Bocelli, thousands of people have discovered and felt the beauty of classical music.

As a musician, Andrea Bocelli was not known until 34 years old. Moreover, he did not particularly think about the career of a singer and musician. On his life path many obstacles lay in wait for him. The very first - and most terrible, perhaps - is his blindness.

Andrea Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958 in the small Italian village of Laiotiko in Tuscany. Since childhood, the boy had serious vision problems. Doctors diagnosed glaucoma. Parents were exhausted and did everything possible to save their son's eyesight. Andrea underwent 27 surgeries, but there was no improvement. When the boy was 12 years old, all attempts to restore his sight were canceled out by an accident - due to an accidental blow to the head with a ball while playing football, a cerebral hemorrhage occurred, and Bocelli became completely blind.

From childhood, the child discovered a talent for music. Already at the age of 6, Bocelli knew how to play the piano, and later learned to play the flute and saxophone. The boy was absorbed in music, and especially in opera. He had a pleasant voice, and as a child, Bocelli was a local celebrity, having won several youth vocal competitions, was a soloist in the school choir.

Italy has presented the world with 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, these considerations were also guided by Andrea Bocelli when he decided to enter the law faculty of the University of Pisa. During the day, the young man studied, and in the evenings he worked in restaurants by playing the flute and saxophone, and then singing. Once, having learned that the idol of his childhood, Franco Corelli, had come to a neighboring town to conduct master classes, Bocelli went to the maestro. Hearing the young man's singing, Corelli realized that he had a rare gift in front of him, and took Bocelli as a student. After graduating in 1980 and receiving a law degree, Bocelli continued his studies in music and performing in restaurants. He never began his legal career.

The next 12 years were not marked by anything remarkable. Future great singer continued to earn money in restaurants by playing the piano and singing.

In 1992, the 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, a competitive selection of tenor singers was organized. Andrea Bocelli came to the audition. In an inexplicable way, he immediately grasped the essence and soul of the song, without any effort. When the recording was given to listen to Luciano Pavarotti, he could not believe for a long time that this voice did not belong to a professional singer, but to an unknown pianist from the restaurant.

Thus began Andrea Bocelli's ascent to world stage... Throughout 1992 he toured with the song "Miserere", often replacing Pavarotti in performances. In 1994 he won the San Remo Festival in the New Artist category with the highest rating.

Andrea Bocelli has performed with many world stars: Luciano Pavarotti, Celine Dion, Ali Jarro, Sarah Brightman and others. But most importantly, he was able to settle in the hearts wide range people love the classical opera repertoire. This is evidenced by the huge circulation of his albums and the 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 busy schedule touring. 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 role in Andrea Bocelli's dizzying success. Still, this is a very terrible disease, and people empathized with him, tried to help. But, of course, this alone is not enough to become a celebrity, admiring 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 along which he is destined to go through life. There are obstacles on this path, and a person must make choices and make decisions. The choice is ours whether to accept correct decisions on this way. We will have complete freedom of choice in making decisions, but we cannot change the direction of our path or rewind time. ".

Sources: Vkontakte community Wikipedia In 1994 on italian festival San Remo lit up brightest star... The world saw Andrea Bocelli. He was over 35 years old at this moment, can you imagine? In fact, the breakthrough year for Bocelli was 1992 - it was then that he was first noticed by Luciano Pavarotti. It happened very interestingly. Zucchero Fornachari (this is the same uncle whom we know the most here by this song) it took a tenor to record a demo version of the song Miserere. He co-wrote it with Bono from U2. That's when Andrea came in handy. How did it happen that until the age of 30 the world did not know that somewhere in Italy there is such a magical singer? Andrea Bocelli was born in Lajatico, Italy in September 1958. Already at the age of six, he began to learn to play the piano, and later mastered the flute and saxophone. Andrea Bocelli was born in Lajatico, Italy in September 1958. Already at the age of six, he began to learn to play the piano, and later mastered the flute and saxophone. Little Andrea He had problems with his eyesight since childhood. He was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma. And when he was 12, he lost the opportunity to see completely - it is not always useful for boys to play football ... Updated on 19/08/11 02:49: Despite his obvious musical talents, Bocelli did not see music as a further career until he graduated from the law school 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, along the way earning money for piano lessons in various groups. As I said, in 1992, Zucchero noticed him. Bocelli recorded Miserere with Pavarotti. And in 1993 he was on tour with Zucchero. I did not find a video from their concerts, so let there be a duet of these two beautiful Italians from 1997. In 1994, Andrea is waiting for a breakthrough - he took part in San Remo! The song that opens the post brought Andrea a victory. The self-titled album became very popular. Bocelli performed at a variety of events, went on tour with Gerardina Trova. Here, for example, all the participants in the annual gala concert sing All for love by Brian Adams. Bocelli is also among them! In September, he first performed at the opera, and then sang before the Pope! I'm not sure if this is exactly the show, but he sang it was Adeste Fideles. Then everything turned out brilliantly as well. In November 1995, Bocelli toured the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain and France with a production of "Night Of Proms", which also featured Brian Ferry, Al Jerr, Roger Hodgson of Supertramp and John Mays. in the video he sings an absolutely gorgeous song about the funicular! At the same time, Bocelli, as the winner of last year's San Remo, took part again with a song that EVERYONE now knows! But it sounded completely different in 1996 at the farewell fight of the great boxer Henry Musk. Time to say goodbye? Sarah Brightman and Andrea had a great time with the legendary athlete! Around the same time, Bocelli was recording a duet with Helen Segara (she became Esmeralda some time after that). Further concerts. albums. amazing popularity in Europe, participation in opera performances. One of the most significant milestones was his duet with Celine Dion. The song Prayer became the soundtrack to the cartoon The Quest for Camelot and was nominated for an Oscar (got a Globe, by the way)! Updated on 19/08/11 02:50: And this performance with the 1999 Grammy. By the way, then Bocelli was nominated as the best new artist- a rare case for an artist with a classical repertoire. And this is very interesting video- Bocelli sings on charity concert Michael Jackson in Munich in 2000. In the mode of constant concerts, recordings, he lives now. I'm running through my favorite moments now. Closing Olympic Games in turin in 2006. And this is Nessun Dorma on Palace Square In Petersburg. It was a free concert in October. It was a terrible rain! I couldn't go and then I regretted so much! Updated on 08/19/11 02:51: A couple of duets: With Aguilera With Pavarotti C Mary J. Bludge Now to his personal life: Bocelli met his first wife, Enrica Chenzatti, early in his career. They got married on June 27, 1992. Their first child, Amos, was born in February 1995. Their second son, Matteo, was born in October 1997. Updated on 19/08/11 02:52: They broke up in 2002. Although not yet divorced, Bocelli lives with his girlfriend and manager, Veronica Berti. But these photographs should prove that the strength of the spirit is in the person himself!

Updated on 19/08/11 02:52: This is my favorite video from Sesame Street: And this is my MOST favorite song: And finally: will you be in New York on September 5th? See his free concert in Central Park. And some beautiful photos: Updated on 19/08/11 02:53:

Despite serious health problems, the singer from Italy Andrea Bocelli managed to achieve real heights and become famous all over the world. He is considered one of the most talented opera performers of our time. So how could a boy from a simple family achieve this dizzying success? Read on in this article!

Andrea Bocelli: biography

Andrea was born in September 1958, in the small village of Lajatico, located in Tuscany. Today the performer is sixty years old.

An important moment in the biography of Andrea Bocelli in the photo: he was awarded a Hollywood star on the Walk of Fame.

Health problems

Also in early childhood Bocelli was diagnosed with a serious eye disease. The boy's eyesight fell at an incredible rate, he was forced to constantly undergo operations.

During rehabilitation, Andrea was rescued from sadness by a turntable with records. Italian operas... The boy could listen to them for hours on end, unbeknownst to himself, beginning to hum melodies and memorize them. Over time, Bocelli mastered the piano, flute and even learned to play the saxophone.

At the age of twelve, Andrea suffered a head injury while playing ball. The diagnosis was disappointing: a complication of glaucoma that made the boy completely blind.

Childhood and youth

Andrea Bocelli's family has never been into music or others creative professions... His parents ran their own household - they kept a farm with a vineyard.

Despite his illness, Bocelli was not going to retreat and stubbornly pursued his dream. Problems only spurred the boy and convinced him that he wants to connect his life with music. Despite his blindness, Andrea continued to lead a normal life, no different from the life of his peers.

While studying at the University of Law, the young man, in parallel, took music lessons from Luciano Bettarini and, under his strict guidance, participated in music competitions... Trying to earn money for his studies, Andrea combined university studies and singing in various cafes and restaurants. Also on creative way Bocelli was helped by another teacher - Franco Corelli.

Personal life

The family plays an important role in the biography of Andrea Bocelli. Andrea met his first wife, Enrica Censatti, while still studying at the law academy. Five years after their meeting, in 1992, the lovers legalized their relationship by tying the knot.

Children in the family appeared just at the moment Andrea's popularity was growing. Constant performances, tours and filming on television made it impossible to conduct a calm and measured family life, therefore, after a while, the wife filed for divorce.

However bachelor life italian singer did not last long. Soon, his wife appeared in the biography of Andrea Bocelli - he met the eighteen-year-old beauty Veronica Berti, who is the daughter of maestro Ivano Berti. A spark ran between them, and after a short time the couple began to live together. Veronica became for Bocelli not only a wife, but also its director.

The personal biography of Andrea Bocelli is no less important than his story creative career... Over time, the older children moved into the family of Andrea and Veronica, and in 2012, Virginia Bocelli, the daughter of Veronica and Andrea, was born.

Creative career

The turning point in the biography of Andrea Bocelli occurred in 1992. The recording of the song "Miserere" by the Italian artist was heard by Luciano Pavarotti, the most famous opera singer of the twentieth century. Luciano was amazed at the skill of the non-professional performer, and since then Andrea Bocelli's career has skyrocketed.

Literally a year later, he received his first prize in the category "Discovery of the Year", at the festival held in San Remo. Through another Bocelli, he entered the top performers in Italy with musical composition Il mare calmo della sera, which later became a hit on his first album. At home, Andrea's album sold out in a million copies in record time.

The second album, titled Bocelli, also went platinum. He was appreciated by listeners all over Europe, and Andrea was invited to concerts in Germany, France, the Netherlands. In 1995, the performer performed before the Pope at the Vatican and received his blessing.

In the first albums of Andrea, one can find only classical opera songs, while during the writing of the third disc, Neapolitan compositions began to appear in the singer's repertoire.

As befits a professional in his field, Andrea has a subtle flair for beautiful melodies and voices. In 1999, together with the world famous singer Celine Dion, he performed the hit The Prayer, for which he was awarded the Golden Globe Awards. In a duet with Lara Fabian, nicknamed by the critics "the owner of the angelic voice," Bocelli sang the song Vivo per lei.

However, despite his popularity, the Italian singer performs in duets not only with the world famous stars stage. Andrea Bocelli presented his composition Con te partiro to the French performer Gregory Lemarchal, who suffered from cystic fibrosis. This talented singer died before he reached his twenty-fourth birthday.

Three years ago, in October 2015, Andrea recorded the song E Più Ti Penso with American pop star Ariana Grande. Subsequently, the video for this composition has gained more than thirty-four million views on the video hosting YouTube.

Andrea in Russia

In our country, they have always loved the work of Italian performers, and Andrea Bocelli was no exception. The tenor of the singer fell in love with the Russians, Andrea made a huge number of friends in Moscow.

The artist's first concerts in Russia took place in 2007, they were held in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Several years later, Andrea gladly accepted the invitation from Gazprom to speak at the celebration of the anniversary of a large company.

Bocelli also performed at the sixtieth birthday of Igor Krutoy, with whom they quickly became friends.

Andrea Bocelli now

Most recently, at the beginning of 2016, Andrea visited Russia again. During the trip, he met Zara - a star Russian stage... Bocelli appreciated her talent and professionalism and himself invited her to sing a duet with him at a concert in the Kremlin. Colleagues performed three songs - the world famous singles The Prayer and Time To Say Goodbye, as well as the new duet La Grande Storia.

Today Andrea Bocelli can be called the world's best-selling classical music performer. The artist lives on his estate not far from the city in which he was born. In addition to music, the Italian singer has other preferences: for example, Andrea is fond of horses, there is even a small horse breeding farm on his farm.

There remains a place in today's biography of Andrea Bocelli for the family with his wife, who never cease to delight the performer. Youngest daughter the singer, little Virginia Bocelli, loves to sing more than anything in the world, which brings endless happiness to her father.

Outcome

Biography of Andrea Bocelli is full of various instructive moments, every fan of his work should familiarize with it. Bocelli's story is motivating and inspiring: hardly anyone can remain indifferent after reading it. Each of us should remember that with talent and incomparable perseverance, you can achieve any heights and conquer any peaks. This is clearly shown in the biography of Andrea Bocelli: from an ordinary boy suffering from vision problems, the Italian became a world famous performer of classical music and the author of a huge number of hits. Andrea is called the "golden tenor" and is considered one of the most talented opera performers of our time. It remains only to wish the singer further development careers and years life!