The Andrea Bocelli Handbook - Everything you need to know about Andrea Bocelli

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Andrea Bocelli, grande ufficiale omri (born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became totally blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident.

Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival, in 1994, Bocelli has recorded thirteen solo studio albums, of both pop and classical music, two greatest hits albums, and eight complete operas, selling over 70 million copies worldwide. Thus, he is the biggest-selling solo artist in the history of classical music.

In 1998, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards marked the first time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since Leontyne Price, in 1961. The Prayer, his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film, The Quest for Camelot, won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. With the release of his classical album, Sacred Arias, Bocelli captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records, as he simultaneously held the top 3 positions on the U.S. classical albums charts. Five of his albums have since reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 200, and a record-setting 7, have topped the classical albums charts, in the United States.

With over 5 million units sold worldwide, Sacred Arias became the biggest-selling classical album by a solo artist of all time, and with just under 20 million units sold worldwide, his 1997 pop album, Romanza, became the best-selling album by an Italian artist ever, as well as the best-selling album by a foreign artist in Canada, and a number of other countries in Europe and Latin America. The album's first single, "Time to Say Goodbye", topped charts all over Europe, including Germany, where it stayed at the top of the charts for fourteen consecutive weeks, breaking the all-time sales record, with over 3 million copies sold in the country. He is widely regarded as the most popular Italian and classical singer in the world.

In 2006, Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and on March 2, 2010, he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contribution to Live Theater.

This book is your ultimate resource for Andrea Bocelli. Here you will find the most up-to-date information, photos, and much more.

In easy to read chapters, with extensive references and links to get you to know all there is to know about his Early life, Career, Personal life and Music right away: List of awards and nominations received by Andrea Bocelli, Andrea Bocelli discography, Il Mare Calmo della Sera, Bocelli (album), Viaggio Italiano, Aria - the opera album, Sogno, Sacred Arias (Andrea Bocelli album), Verdi (album), Cieli di Toscana, Sentimento, Andrea (album), Amore (Andrea Bocelli album), Incanto, My Christmas, Requiem (Verdi), Carmen: Duets & Arias, La bohème, Tosca, Il trovatore, Werther, Pagliacci, Cavalleria rusticana, Carmen, Andrea Chénier, Romanza, The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere, A Night in Tuscany, Sacred Arias: The Home Video, Tuscan Skies (Cieli di Toscana), Credo: John Paul II, Under the Desert Sky, My Christmas Special, Vivere Live in Tuscany

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Performing Arts

Biography

Entertainment

Autobiography

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Publié par	Emereo Publishing
Date de parution	24 octobre 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781486435272
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	15 Mo

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Andrea Bocelli

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The content within this book was generated collaboratively by volunteers. Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, ac-curate or reliable information. Some information in this book maybe misleading or simply wrong. The publisher does not guarantee the validity of the information found here. If you need speciîc advice (for example, medical, legal, înancial, or risk management) please seek a professional who is licensed or knowledgeable in that area.

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Contents

Articles Andrea Bocelli List of awards and nominations received by Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli discography Il Mare Calmo della Sera Bocelli (album) Viaggio Italiano Aria–the opera album Sogno Sacred Arias (Andrea Bocelli album) Verdi (album)

Cieli di Toscana Sentimento Andrea (album) Amore (Andrea Bocelli album) Incanto My Christmas Requiem (Verdi) Carmen: Duets & Arias La bohème Tosca Il trovatore Werther Pagliacci Cavalleria rusticana Carmen Andrea Chénier Romanza The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere A Night in Tuscany Sacred Arias: The Home Video Tuscan Skies (Cieli di Toscana) Credo: John Paul II Under the Desert Sky

My Christmas Special

1 24 28 41 43 45 47 49 51 54 55 59 61 62 67 70 83 86 90 98 115 119 124 128 135 149 153 160 163 164 165 167 168 171

Vivere Live in Tuscany

References Article Sources and Contributors Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

Article Licenses License

173

175 178

180

Andrea Bocelli

Born

Genres

Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli performing at the Live 8concert in Paris, in 2005. Background information

22 September 1958 Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy

Adult contemporary, classical, easy listening, Latin pop, opera, operatic pop, pop, vocal

OccupationsMusician, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist

InstrumentsVocals, keyboards, flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, harmonica, guitar, drums, melodica

Years active

Labels

Website

1992–present

Universal, Philips, PolyGram, Decca, Sugar

[1] Andrea Bocelli

[2] [3] Andrea Bocelli, grande ufficiale omri (Italian pronunciation:[anˈdrɛːa boˈtʃɛlli]; born 22 September 1958) is an [4] [5] [6] Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became totally [7] [8] blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident. [9] Since winning the Newcomers section of the Sanremo Music Festival, in 1994, Bocelli has recorded thirteen solo studio albums, of both pop and classical music, two greatest hits albums, and eight complete operas, selling over 70 [10] [4] [11] [12] [13] million copies worldwide. Thus, he is the biggest-selling solo artist in the history of classical music. [14]

[7] In 1998, he was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards marked the first time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since [4] [15] Leontyne Price, in 1961.The Prayer, his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film,The Quest for Camelot, [4] won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category. [15] With the release of his classical album,Sacred Arias, Bocelli captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World [4] [15] Records, as he simultaneously held the top 3 positions on the U.S. classical albums charts. Five of his albums have since reached theTop 10on theBillboard200, and a record-setting 7, have topped the classical albums charts, [16] in the United States.

With over 5 million units sold worldwide,Sacred Ariasbecame the biggest-selling classical album by a solo artist of [4] [15] all time, and with just under 20 million units sold worldwide, his 1997 pop album,Romanza, became the [17] [18] [19] best-selling album by an Italian artist ever, as well as the best-selling album by a foreign artist in Canada, [15] and a number of other countries in Europe and Latin America. The album's first single, "Time to Say Goodbye", topped charts all over Europe, including Germany, where it stayed at the top of the charts for fourteen consecutive [4] [15] weeks, breaking the all-time sales record, with over 3 million copies sold in the country. He is widely regarded [20] as the most popular Italian and classical singer in the world.

Andrea Bocelli

[2] [3] In 2006, Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and on March 2, 2010, [21] [22] he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for his contribution to Live Theater.

Early life

Childhood and Education

Bocelli was born in 1958 to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli. They lived on the family farm, selling farm machinery and making wine in the small village of La Sterza, a frazione of Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy, which is about 40 km south of Pisa. Bocelli's mother and younger brother Alberto still live in the family home. Bocelli's father died in 2000.

As a young boy, Bocelli showed a great passion for music. His mother has said that music was the only thing that would comfort him. At the age of six he Teatro del Silenzio at Lajatico, Tuscany started piano lessons, and later also learned to play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, harp, guitar and drums. [23] Bocelli would also spend time singing during his childhood. At the age of 14 he won his first song competition, [23] the Margherita d'Oro in Viareggio withO sole mio. [23] After finishing secondary school in 1980, he studied law at the University of Pisa. To earn money Bocelli performed evenings in piano bars. He completed law school and spent one year as a court-appointed lawyer. It was there, in 1987, that he met his future wife, Enrica.

Loss of sight It was evident at birth that Bocelli had problems with his sight, and after visits to many doctors, he was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma. In 1970, at the age of 12, he completely lost his sight following an accident during a [7] [8] soccer game. While pregnant, Bocelli's mother, Edi, was mistakenly diagnosed with appendicitis and received a treatment of ice applied to her stomach. Doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy with an abortion because of the high probability that the treatment would cause a disability in the child. Despite this advice, Bocelli's mother chose not to [8] abort her son (Bocelli's blindness is not believed to be related to this incident).

Andrea Bocelli

Career

1992–94: Sanremo andIl Mare Calmo della Sera In 1992, Italian rock star Zucchero held auditions for tenors to make a demo tape with of the songMisererefrom his album of the same name, to send to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. After hearing Bocelli on tape, Pavarotti urged Zucchero to use Bocelli instead of him. The demo tape was from Caterina Caselli, who had discovered Bocelli. Caselli is Bocelli's current manager and producer. Zucchero eventually persuaded Pavarotti to record the song with him and it became a hit throughout Europe. In Zucchero's European concert tour in 1993, it was Bocelli who accompanied him to sing the duet and he was also [24] given solo sets in the concerts, singing "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini'sTurandotsigned with the Sugar. Bocelli Music label in Milan after the group's president heard Bocelli singMiserereand "Nessun Dorma" at a birthday party for Zucchero. In December he entered the preliminary round of the Sanremo Music Festival in the category of Giovani, performing both parts of the duetMiserere. He won the preliminary competition with the highest marks ever recorded in the Newcomers section. On 28 December, he debuted in the classical world in a concert at the Teatro Romolo Valli in [24] Reggio Emilia. In February 1994 he entered the main San Remo Festival competition with "Il mare calmo della sera", and he won the "Newcomers" section, again with a record score. His debut album, of the same name, was released and [24] immediately entered the Italian Top Ten, going platinum within weeks. [24] In May he toured with Italian pop singer Gerardina Trovato. In September he sang at Pavarotti's annual Charity Gala concert,Pavarotti Internationalin Modena, where he sang Ruggero Leoncavallo's "Mattinata" and sang a duet with Pavarotti, Maurizio Morante'sNotte e Piscatore. He also sang "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata in the finale, along with Nancy Gustafson, Giorgia, Andreas Vollenweider and Bryan Adams and also [24] Adams' songAll for Love. [25] In September he made his opera debut as Macduff in Verdi'sMacbethat the Teatro Verdi in Pisa. Bocelli had been an agnostic, but around 1994, partly as a result of immersing himself in the works of Tolstoy, he returned to the [26] practice of the Catholic faith. He performed the hymn,Adeste Fidelesin Rome before Pope John Paul II in St. [24] Peter's Basilica at Christmas.

1995–97:BocelliandRomanza–Conquering Europe and Latin America As winner of the 1994 Newcomers section at the Sanremo Festival, he was invited to return the following year, [27] entering the main competition with "Con te partirò" and finishing in fourth place. The song was included on his albumBocelliwhich was produced by Mauro Malavasi and released in spring. His [27] third album,Viaggio Italiano, was released in autumn. Bocelli sang "Miserere" and "Funiculì, Funiculà" with [27] [28] guitarist John Miles. In Belgium, "Con te partirò" became the best-selling single of all time. In 1996, Bocelli was invited to sing a duet with English soprano Sarah Brightman at the final bout of German IBF World Light-Heavyweight boxing champion Henry Maske. Brightman, a friend of Maske, approached Bocelli after she heard him singing "Con te partirò" whilst she was dining in a restaurant. Changing the title lyric of the song to "Time to Say Goodbye", they re-recorded it as a duet with members of the London Symphony Orchestra and sang it as a farewell for Maske. The single debuted atop the German charts, where it stayed for fourteen weeks. With sales nearing three million copies, and a sextuple platinum award, "Time to Say Goodbye" eclipsed the previous [27] best-selling single by more than one million copies. He topped the Spanish singles chart in 1996 with a duet with Marta Sanchez, "Vivo Por Ella", the Spanish version of "Vivo per lei", recorded with Giorgia for theRomanza album.

Andrea Bocelli

The same year, Bocelli recorded "Je vis pour elle", the French version of "Vivo per lei", as a duet with French singer Hélène Ségara. Released in December 1997, the song became a hit in Belgium (Wallonia) and France, where it reached #1 on the charts. To date, it is the best-selling single for Ségara, and the second for Bocelli after "Time to Say Goodbye". On 3 March he appeared in Hamburg, Germany, with Sarah Brightman to receive the ECHO music [27] award for "Best Single of the Year". In August, he appeared at the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, Italy, and then at the World Youth Festival in Paris, where he again sang in the presence of the Pope. In the summer, he gave 22 open air concerts in Germany, as well as an indoor concert in Oberhausen on 31 August. In September he performed in concert at the Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa for the home videoA Night in Tuscany(Italian:una notte nella Toscana) with guests Nuccia Focile, Sarah Brightman and Zucchero. On 14 September in Munich, Germany, he received an ECHO Klassik "Best seller of the [27] [29] year" award for his album,Viaggio Italiano. Back in Italy in Bologna on 27 September, he yet again sang before the Pope at the International Eucharistic Congress. On 19 October, he sang at the TeleFood benefit concert held in the Vatican City, and organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization to raise awareness about world hunger. On 25 October he received a Bambi award, an annual television and media prize awarded by the German media company Hubert Burda Media, in the [27] Klassik category in Cologne, Germany.

1998–99:Aria,SognoandSacred Arias–Breaking into the United States Bocelli made his debut in a major operatic role in 1998 when he played Rodolfo in a production ofLa bohèmeat the Teatro Comunale in Cagliari from 18 February to 25 February. His fifth albumAria - The Opera Albumwas released [30] in March. On 19 April Bocelli entered the United States (USA) market with a concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. followed the next day by a reception at the White House with [30] then US President Bill Clinton. On 5 May, he appeared in Monte Carlo, winning two World Music Awards, one [30] [31] in the category "Best Italian Singer", and one for "Best Classical Interpretation". He was also named one of [7] People magazine's 50 most beautiful people of 1998. In June, July, and August, he toured North and South America. His final concert of the tour at Madison Square Garden was sold out. In September, he received his next Echo Klassik award, this time for "Best selling classical [30] album" withAria - the opera album. On Thanksgiving Eve Bocelli appeared as a guest on Céline Dion's Television specialThese Are Special Timesin which he joined Dion with their hitThe Prayerfrom Dion's album These Are Special Timesand he also sangAve Mariasolo. Dion introduced him by saying, "I heard someone say–If God had a singing voice, he would sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli." As a result of his appearance on the show, his [30] popularity in the USA further increased. Dion's album containingThe Prayerwas released in 1998 and re-issued with the DVD of the TV special in 2007. The song appeared on theQuest for Camelotsoundtrack in 1998 and on Bocelli's album,Sogno, the following year. At the New Year, he performed two concerts at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. The hotel usedCon te partiròin [30] their advertisements, which again increased his popularity further in the USA. He also performed the first Internet live opera broadcast in its entirety from the Detroit Opera House, with Denyce Graves. At the 56th Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on 24 January,The Prayerwon the Golden [32] Globe Award for Best Original Song from the filmQuest for Camelot. At the 41st Grammy Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on 24 February, Bocelli was nominated in the Best New Artist [32] category which was won by Lauryn Hill. Bocelli and Dion received a standing ovation after singingThe Prayer. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and performed by Bocelli and Dion at [32] the ceremony held at the Los Angeles Music Center on 21 March. From 11 April to 24 April, he toured the West coast of North America from San Diego to Vancouver, with a final performance before over 18,000 spectators at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Actress Elizabeth Taylor stood [32] by his side on the stage during the encore, while he sangThe Prayer.

Andrea Bocelli

At the invitation of Steven Spielberg, Bocelli sang in Los Angeles on 15 May before Bill Clinton at an event on behalf of the Democratic Party. At the end of May he toured Portugal and Spain and sang with the Portuguese Fado singer Dulce Pontes. On 27 June he took part in the Michael Jackson benefit concert for suffering children in [32] Munich's Olympic Stadium. From 10 July to 27 August he appeared in a guest role at seven performances ofThe Merry Widowat the Verona [25] [32] Arena in Rome. As the "Tenor Conte Andrea" he performed three arias, "La donna è mobile" from Verdi's Rigoletto; "Tu, che m' hai preso il cuor" from Franz Lehár'sLand des Laechelnsand "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from [32] Verdi's La Traviata, again receiving standing ovations. On 10 September, together with soprano Daniela Dessi and two Polish singers, he performed at the Great Theatre of Łódź in Poland. From 7 October to 19 November, he made his United States operatic debut in Jules Massenet's [25] WertherHe was cheered by the audiences, butat the Detroit Opera House with the Michigan Opera Theater. [32] criticized by the press. He also performed at Rodeo Drive in Hollywood and gave further concerts in Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago and an appearance on Jay Leno's first installment of The Tonight Show. Then Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani gave him the Crystal Apple, a gift to celebrated personalities from New York City. His seventh albumSacred Arias, which contains exclusively sacred music, was released worldwide on 8 November, and two weeks later reached first place in the USA Classic Billboard charts, making Bocelli the first vocalist to hold all top three places on the chart, withAria, the opera albumin second place, andViaggio Italianoin third place. The album also included the hymn [32] of the holy year 2000 which was chosen as the official version by the Vatican in October. Immediately after his return to Italy he sang in Florence at a meeting of the centre-left Heads of State. Invited by Queen Elizabeth II, he performed at the annual Royal Variety Performance in Birmingham, UK, on 29 November. [32] On 30 November, his bookLa musica del silenzio, an autobiographical novel, was released in Italy. From 12 December to 21 December he performed six concerts in Barcelona, Strasbourg, Lisbon, Zagreb, Budapest and Messina, directed by Lorin Maazel, some of which were broadcast on local television. He also performed on German television; Wetten, dass..? on 11 December and the José Carreras Gala in Leipzig on 17 December. On 31 December, he finished a marathon twenty-four concerts in thirty days, with a concert at the Nassau Veterans [32] Memorial Coliseum in New York in front of 8,000 people, welcoming in the new millennium.

2000–01:VerdiandCieli di Toscana At the 42nd Grammy Awards on 23 February Bocelli was nominated twice.The Prayerwas nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. Bocelli performed it with Dion at the ceremony. His "World Tour 2000" started on 31 March. In May hisSacred Ariasalbum was voted album of the year by listeners of the Classic FM radio station in the UK. His world tour continued from 12 May to 14 May with four concerts in Japan and South Korea. At the end of the UEFA European Football Championship he performed with Valery Gergiev and Renée Fleming at a concert on the River Maas in Rotterdam. On 6 July he performed at the Statue of Liberty in New York and on 17 August he performed in Giuseppi Verdi's Messa da Requiem at the Verona Arena in Rome. His seventh albumVerdiwas released on 11 September. In September he also performed three concerts in Australia. He received another Echo Klassik award for "Bestseller of the year" forSacred Arias. In November his first complete opera recording,La Bohèmewas released. In December he received another award in [33] Germany, the Goldene Europa for classical music. In January 2001, Bocelli portrayed the main character in Pietro Mascagni's opera,L'amico Fritzat the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and again performed the tenor part in Verdi's Requiem. On 19 March the Requiem album was released with Bocelli as tenor. From 22 March to 6 April he toured North America accompanied by Cecilia Gasdia and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. On 17 June he performed at the re-opening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In July he performed two concerts in Dublin with Ana María Martínez and the New Symphony Orchestra. At the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 4 October he presented his new albumCieli di Toscanaand was

Andrea Bocelli

recognised for having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In October he opened the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sicilian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini in Catania. On 28 October, he sang Franz Schubert'sEllens dritter Gesangas a representative of the Roman Catholic faith, during a memorial concert at Ground Zero in New York City for the victims of the September 11 attacks there. In November he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million sales of the albumCieli di Toscana, and at the Italian Music Awards he was given a special award from the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for his merits as an "Ambassador of Italian music in the world". He performed seven more concerts in the US accompanied by Ana María Martínez and on 23 December, in front of the President of Italy and other guests of honour, he sang the Italian national anthem as well as works of Bellini and Verdi at the traditional Christmas concert in the Italian Senate, which was broadcast live on [34] television for the first time.

2002–05:SentimentoandAndrea In Berlin on 5 February he received a Goldene Kamera award in the "Music & Entertainment" category. On 6 March he received two World Music Awards in Monte Carlo: "World best selling classical artist" and "Best selling Italian artist". On 11 March, he gave a concert for peace at the Basilica di San Marco a Venezia in Venice, accompanied by the orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice and conducted by Lorin Maazel. On 15 March he took part in the opening of Walt Disney Studios Park in Marne-la-Vallée France. On 7 May Bocelli and Tony Renis received a Telegatto Italian Television award for the soundtrack of the seriesCuore. On 23 May he received the 2002 Classical BRIT Award for [35] "Outstanding Contribution to Music". On 27 May he performed at the Villa Madama in Rome in front of USA president George W. Bush and Italian president Silvio Berlusconi. On 28 May he took part in "Pavarotti & Friends" charity concert in Modena in aid of Angola. In June he again toured the USA, then on 26 July and 3 August he portrayed Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton inMadama Butterflyat the 48th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. On 14 October he and Lorin Maazel presented his new albumSentimentoto a worldwide audience. Further presentations took place in Milan and New York, and the album was released on 4 November, selling over two million copies in 40 days. On 24 October he started hisSentimentotour in Zürich which took in large arenas in several European and [36] North American cities. In February 2003, Bocelli performedMadama Butterflyin an exclusive Monte Carlo concert, which was attended by Caroline, Princess of Hanover. In March for the first time he appeared as a producer, at the Sanremo Festival, where [37] the young artists Allunati and Jacqueline Ferry sang for his new record label, Clacksong. In May his second complete opera,Tosca, was released. At a private benefit gala for the Royal National Institute of Blind People [37] Bocelli sang in front of the British Royal Family. A day later he received two awards forSentimentoat the 2003 Classical BRIT Award held at the Royal Albert Hall in London–"Best selling classical album" and "Album of the [38] year". On 24 May he performed in a benefit concert for the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art in the Piazza del Campo in Siena, with sopranos Maria Luigia Borsi and Lucia Dessanti, baritone Soo Kyung Ahn, and violinist Ruth Rogers, accompanied by Marcello Rota and the Orchestra Città di Pisa. Three days later he was again invited to perform at "Pavarotti & Friends" in Modena and sang a medley of Neapolitan songs together with Pavarotti. In June he continued hisSentimentotour in Athens and Cyprus. In September he took part in a concert for the Justice ministers and Interior ministers of the European Union at the Parco della Musica in Rome. He then [37] resumed his tour, accompanied by Maria Luigia Borsi, Ruth Rogers and Marcello Rota. [39] He won the "Favourite Specialist Performer" award at the UK National Music Awards in October 2003. In November he once again toured in the United States, this time accompanied by Ana Maria Martinez, Kallen Esperian and Steven Mercurio. In December he gave his first concert in China and at the end of the month sang Gounod'sAve [37] Mariaat Pavarotti's wedding in Modena. In Bologna in January he performed as Werther in four performances of the opera of the same name. In April and May he toured Asia again, visiting Manila, Hong Kong and Singapore. And in May he took part in a concert at Circo Massimo in Rome organised by Quincy Jones to launch the "We are the Future" project. In June his third complete

Andrea Bocelli

operaIl trovatorewas released. In July he played the part of Mario Cavaradossi inToscaat the 50th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. And he took part in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) global campaign for the 2004 [40] Summer Olympics in Athens. In September he performed his "Once in a Lifetime" tour in Australia with concerts in Sydney and Melbourne and one concert in Christchurch, New Zealand where he was joined on stage by New Zealand soprano Hayley [41] Westenra. On 15 October he performed at the People Conference Hall in Beijing, China and on 17 October at the Great Hall in [42] Shanghai. [43] During early 2005 Bocelli was on tour including to Madeira, Hungary, Norway, USA, UK, Italy and Germany. He also appeared inSesame Streetsinging "Time to Say Goodnight" a parody ofTime to Say Goodbyeas a lullaby to [44] Elmo. On 21 March he performed on theMusic for Asiabenefit concert in Rome, televised on Italia 1, in aid of [45] the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake appeal. In June he performed at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. On 2 July he performed at the Paris concert as part of the Live 8 event. Also during the second part of the year, he performed in Croatia, Serbia, Italy, the US, Dubai, Switzerland [43] and finally in Scandinavia. On 28 August he performed at the Faenol Festival held in Vaynol, Wales and [45] organised by Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel. In December his first contemporary music concert took place at a Lake Las Vegas village resort in Nevada, US, which was recorded for PBS and released as theUnder the Desert Sky DVD. He also took part in the Royal Christmas Show, which took place in several cities in the USA in December. The albumWertherwas released in December. During 2005 he was invited by Pope Benedict XVI, George W. Bush [43] and Queen Elizabeth II to perform at special events.

2006–07:AmoreandVivere, Greatest hits On 18 February he sang at the Toyota Center in Houston during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2006 [46] All-Star Weekend, and broadcast live on the TNT Cable television network. On 26 February Bocelli sang "Because We Believe" from hisAmorealbum in the Carnevale section of the closing [3] ceremony of the Torino Olympics with a worldwide television audience. He also began another tour with a concert [47] at the Piazza di Castello in Turin. In March he was honoured by the Italian state with a Grande Ufficiale Italian Order of Merit (Grand Officer of the Italian Republic), given to him by then President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for his worldwide work for his country as a singer. The award was presented to him at the Sanremo [2] [3] Festival where he performed a duet with American singer Christina Aguilera on 4 March. From 31 March to 2 April he took part in the Maggio Musicale in Florence where he sang theCanto di pace [48] (Canto of peace)and the tenor partby Marco Tutino from Gioachino Rossini'sMessa di Gloriaand in Naples where he took part in Rossini's Petite Messe [3] [47] Solennelle.

Bocelli rehearsing for hisUnder the Desert Skyconcert in Lake Las Vegas, in 2006.

In April 2006, he featured as a guest coach on American Idolhelping the finalists sing the week's themed songs, "Greatest Love Songs." He also [49] performed on that week's results show. American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee performed at three of Bocelli's concerts in California from 9 June to 11 June singing duets ofSomos NoviosandThe Prayerwith