BocelliOnline

[Melodie]

Q&A;: Andrea Bocelli

By Mark Worden
ROME (Billboard) - On a sunny morning in late August, Billboard met with singer Andrea Bocelli at his large villa on the Tuscan coast. It was toward the end of Italy's holiday season, and the tenor was looking relaxed in his spacious sitting room, full of paintings and sculptures. With the release of his latest album, "Andrea," Bocelli looked back at his career.

Q: Is it true that you've been more hands-on than usual with this album?

A: Very much so. First and foremost, because I was freer. I began working in a moment of relative tranquility, so I had more energy.

Secondly, we had the good idea of recording it in the studio here at home -- at least the voices. Incredible as it may seem, that was very important. It's one thing to go into a studio and record at a prearranged time, it's quite another to do it at home when the mood takes you and you feel inspired. So, because of that, this record is better than the previous ones, in vocal terms.

Q: Is it different from your others in terms of personality?

A: From a musical point of view it's more varied. There are some motifs where my classical vocality is allowed to flourish. For example, there's a song that I really like by Peppe Vessicchio, called "Incanto." There are others that are more radio-friendly, where my voice seems more like that of the early days.

Not having to follow the tight rules of classical music, I was able to take advantage of the imagination and instinct of the writers. It's a very varied record, which is the way popular music should be.

Q: Could you expand on that?

A: What I mean is that classical music has precise rules; it's like a train that can't leave its tracks. It's "scientific," it has a time-honored tradition and you have to study and respect the rules. With pop, there might be a basic talent, a musicality, that a writer employs in writing a song. So there are no fixed rules, and this enables you to use your imagination more.

Q: Your music has become an international phenomenon. Do you have a theory about why it has struck a chord with so many people throughout the world?

A: My theory is that success doesn't have rules; nobody knows why it comes and nobody knows why it goes away.

The only thing you can say is that every now and again God provides gifts, and I received the gift of a voice that can communicate feelings and sensations. It has to be used in a pure way. By this I mean that I'm Italian, (so) I have to sing in Italian. I have to sing melodies that are Italian or at least Mediterranean, and which enable you to hear the honesty of the intent. I think that's the secret behind this whole adventure.
Q: These are clearly not good times for the recording industry. Does the idea of releasing a record in the current climate worry you?

A: The situation is certainly very worrying for the record industry. There have always been moments of change, but I think it's clear that the "record" in its current format doesn't have a future.

But this doesn't mean that the music industry doesn't have a future. It does. But don't ask me in what form because, unlike the dead in Dante's "Inferno," I don't have the ability to foresee the future!

What I do know is that music will always have its space, and the music industry will get organized and defend itself. It will fight piracy and it will find ways of selling music.

I don't want to advertise here because I don't own one, but the iPod already strikes me as an interesting way of paying for music. It enables you to have vast quantities of the stuff in your pocket. Who knows what will happen? We shall see.

Q: Some opera critics have often been harsh with you. Was that upsetting for you?

A: Yes, it was. Although I have to specify, for the record, that critics were kinder to me at the beginning of my career. They started to get tough when my success in the pop field took off, and they never forgave me for that.

This was hard for me at first, but when the public is on your side and you have too much work on your hands, rather than too little, then you come to terms with it.

I mean, when you think that they recently published a whole book containing the negative reviews that (soprano Maria) Callas received during the course of her career -- an entire book! -- then you realize that anyone living in the opera world has to deal with this attitude. It is a fact of life.

Q: Some say the opera world is rife with snobbery. What do you think?

A: Opera was born as popular music, and people in the opera world have forgotten this. That's the problem.

Opera was born for the people -- companies would tour small towns and villages, and even play in the back streets. Opera's true nature has been forgotten and we now have something that is elitist and snobbish. This is very harmful for the music, the artists and opera itself.

I'm convinced that the emotions that opera can give to any person who listens are very strong. They are, as we say in Italian, fortissime.

Reuters/Billboard

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=musicNews&storyID;=6665392&pageNumber;=0

[jo]

Bravo Andrea! Good answers! Just to comment on one answer, I agree completely that his voice is most thrilling when he sings in his native language. That's when it comes from his heart.

And thanks, Melodie, for posting it here. Sometimes a link doesn't necessarily take you right to the article, and sometimes you are asked to "sign up", so I don't always find/see/bother to read a link.

[gemkitten]

Thanks Melodie, for posting this article.

I really enjoyed reading this and what great answers Andrea gave.
I especially liked:

Opera was born for the people -- companies would tour small towns and villages, and even play in the back streets. Opera's true nature has been forgotten and we now have something that is elitist and snobbish. This is very harmful for the music, the artists and opera itself.

Thanks again, as usual, you are on top of everything. You are an
_________________
Se la gente usasse il cuore, si aprirebbe un orizzonte migliore
If people used their heart, a better horizon would come into view

[Willma]

An elitist attitude is not something that has occurred in opera by evil intent. People, by and large, have moved on, and opera has stayed true to its traditions arising from the classical or golden age of opera, aptly defined as a train staying on it's tracks - good point, Andrea! Presently, the gap is so wide that the learning curve to get into and appreciate traditional opera, is simply too steep for the average person who is in search of a night's entertainment. For those in love with Andrea Bocelli or for those who thirst for challenge, this is not true but for the man on the street, it is. Opera, if viewed as a story set to music, is alive and well - the Broadway musical. Those who are offended by that statement are riding the train.

I believe that Andrea is realizing - and hopefully embracing - the fact that to sustain broad popular appeal, he must produce popular music from time to time to stay afloat.
_________________
Although, in his life, he was often called the imbecile from Illinois, history has proven otherwise.

[rosied]

I thoroughly injoyed this interview......proving once again what a "thinking man" our guy is. I especially enjoyed:


" Opera was born of the people - companies would tour small towns and villages and even play in the back streets. Opera's true nature has been forgotten and we now have something that is elitist and snobbish. This is very harmful for mussic, the artists and opera itself."

This is how my grandfater met my grandmother - he was a singer in one of these touring companies and performed for her father in a little town (DiPiazza) outside of Florence in the l870's. He swept her off her feet with his beautiful voice - she ran away and married him - they eventually came to America - where he became a singing barber!
How's that for a fairytale??!!!


Sorry, I couldn't help sharing this. When I read this comment of Andrea's I immediately thought of this family story.

Rosie

[Janice]

I picked up a copy of the BILLBOARD magazine where this interview comes from. It is the issued dated November 6th. It contains what they call the "Spotlight" and it is 13 pages of ANDREA! Most of the pages are ads congratulating him for his ten years in the industry. There are a few stories, as well, like this one for instance. I was really loving turing page after page and seeing everything on them be about THE MAN. One of the ads is from "Societa italiana degli Autori ed Editori". It says "THANK YOU ANDREA" at the top. At the bottom it says "Thanks to Andrea Bocelli, Sugar and to all the authors of his songs: you made Italian Music fly all over the world". I thought that was a great one. So true! There is even an ad from Pavarotti! I could tell you more but I don't want to spoil the fun for anyone who wants to get their own copy. It's a keeper!

[Signora Innamorata]