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[Anna in NY]

Idol boosts Bocelli's career as king of opera crossover

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, June 11, 2006
BY EDWARD ORTIZ
Sacramento Bee



With more than $50 million worth of CDs sold and a marketing blitz that featured him as a singer at the Winter Olympics in Turin and a coach on American Idol, it's safe to say that Andrea Bocelli's career is approaching juggernaut status.

Bocelli has been one of the most successful recent singers to cross over from opera to popular music. His most recent album, Amore, a collection of Latin love songs, has spent the last 31 weeks on the Billboard Top 100 and sold more than 2 million copies. He comes to Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Mass., on Friday.

Bocelli's career is a shrewd blend of talent and marketing that has helped him reach pop music audiences that probably know little about opera or classical music.

For example, his April appearance on American Idol helped his Amore CD to immediately jump 15 spots on the Billboard charts, virtually overnight. His performance was seen by more than 30 million viewers.

"It was very exciting being on Idol, because whenever there is a competition everything is very emotional," said Bocell in a telephone interview from his home in Forte dei Marmi, a coastal town in Tuscany, Italy.

"It was also very exciting because the audience was very close to me," he said.

There are similar televised talent shows in Italy, Bocelli explained, but they are on a much smaller scale than Idol.

"There is not the same affection from the audience," said Bocelli.

The singer's advice for the young vocalists on Idol was as simple as the arrangements on his Amore CD.

"To sing love songs, you have to listen to your heart, and ask your heart which is the best way to sing love songs," said Bocelli.

"When I am in love it is easier to sing these love songs," he said. "Otherwise, I have to remember."

Many of the songs on Amore are classics of the Latin love song genre, such as "Besame Mucho" and "Somos Novios," which was popularized in English as "It's Impossible." Bocelli sang the song as a duet with Christina Aguilera.

Amore paired Bocelli with well-known producer David Foster, who has collaborated with Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and Michael Buble.

"Many of the songs are sweet memories of music I sang as a young student playing in a piano bar," said Bocelli.

The singer was born in the small Tuscan town of Lajatico and played the church organ as a child. When he was 12, he won his first singing competition performing "O Sole Mio."

At one time Bocelli was on track to become a lawyer, and he even earned a law degree from the University of Pisa. But soon after graduating he realized that music was his true calling, and he took to singing in piano bars to pay for music lessons.

His big break came in 1992, when Italian rock star Zucchero Fornaciari -- popularly known simply as Zucchero -- auditioned Bocelli while scouting for tenors to duet with him on his song "Miserere," a song co-written by U2's Bono.

Zucchero was originally slated to sing the duet with famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti. But upon hearing Bocelli, Pavarotti urged Zucchero to replace him with Bocelli.

The song was eventually recorded with Pavarotti, but Bocelli had gotten noticed and was invited by Zucchero for his European tour. It was during this tour that Bocelli began introducing rock fans to opera by singing of the aria "Nessun Dorma" from Giacomo Puccini's Turandot.

Nowadays, Bocelli's schedule is full of both opera commitments and crossover concerts in which he sings mainly love songs. He's on a career path he says is difficult to develop. And it's one he doesn't necessarily recommend to young opera singers with big ambitions.

"I would say never sing crossover," said Bocelli. "Pop music and opera, they are two different languages, and you have to have a respect for those two languages.

"When you speak two different languages, you have to learn to speak both very well."

Andrea Bocelli is at the Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts, 885 South Main St. (off Route 495), Mansfield, Mass., at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $50 to $275. Call (401) 331-2211 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.
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