BocelliOnline

[Sally]

Article from Sunday Express, 8 October 2006.

Andrea Bocelli is used to acclaim. He invented opera crossover and has sold 50 million records in an extraordinary career. Tonight, he has sold out London's Albert Hall hot on the heels of Glasgow's SECC, Manchester's MEN Arena and Birmingham's NIA. But among the cheers of his millions of fans, the critical savaging he received in New York last month must hurt. There he sold out the Avery Fisher Hall four nights in a row, sang with the New York Philharmonic and brought the house down with at least 20 minutes or encores demanded on each occasion. But the New York Times opera critic Bernard Holland complained:"Mr Bocelli is not a good singer. The tone is rasping, thin and, in general, poorly supported. Even the most modest upward movement thins it even more, signalling what appears to be the onset of strangulation.

One of the world's most popular performer, Bocelli is music royalty, with an army of fans and the endorsement of stars like Luciano Pavarotti. But fame has cost Bocelli more than critical support. Now 48, he has been separated from his wife Enrica since 2001 - they have two sons Amos, 11 and Matteo, 9. He is a homebody who professes a hatred of travel, constantly wishing to calm his schedule but never quite managing it. He lives in an imposing, converted former hotel in the Italian resort of Forte Dei Marmi in his native Tuscany. The mountains rise behind the house, the beach is just across the road and there are shops selling bucket and spades and Gucci. "I even holiday here," he says. His wife and children live three doors away. Greeting us at his home is 28-year old girlfriend Veronica Berti, the sort of younger woman who could be mistaken for a spoil of fame for a middle-aged rich man. But she quickly proved herself smart and a match for Bocelli. Despite his blindness, Bocelli navigates the house expertly, making me a shot of exquisite expresso with ease. No wonder he hates to leave familiar surroundings. His career of constant travel has already cost him his marriage. "It didn't help," he admits. "But if a marriage fails then the seeds of that failure were there from the start."

Bocelli talks lyrically and prefers a metaphor where a simple fact will do, apparently a Tuscan trait. "Marriage is a very complex and delicate arrangement and in those cases where it works well, it's like glass. When it's right, it's difficult to scratch, but it's still very fragile." And the balance becomes more difficult when a busy career takes you away. "That's right," he concedes, "I want my space and my freedom. But I'll say, 'Next month I'm doing nothing' then all these offers I can't refuse come up. It's tough because my role as a father has been more profound than being a singer."

Friends say that when Bocelli's career went stellar in the early Nineties, it timed badly with the birth of his first child. "His friends are all big Tuscan fellows who play Jack the Lad and it was his turn," said one of life on the road. Most of the people who worked for Bocelli never met his wife, even at parties at his house, a testament to how little the two were together. "She just didn't sign up for that life," another explained. "She just didn't want to be in that world."

He was devastated but now seems more comfortable than ever. Bocelli and Veronica met at a party in 2002. Her father is a patron the arts and she and Bocelli have that passion in common and, significantly, she enjoys travelling with him, organising his life. But, it is clear, separation from his wife has changed his priorities. In a recent interview he hinted that he had pursued money too vigorously. Using the metaphor "money is like food," he said; "The more you eat, the more your appetite grows. The more money you have, the more you want."

Bocelli famously suppressed his emotions to give a performance to the Pope hours after his father's death, and the marriage split has informed his work, too. "Pain cries out to be expressed and I express those emotions through singing. I prefer to express good things but pain adds the edge." Perhaps that's why, despite the critic's jibes, Bocelli's voice seems to hit home with so many. Some have technical ability, he has passion and vulnerability. His latest pop album, Amore, to be released in the UK next month, uniquely switches between opera recording, performances and pop ballads, duetting with Christina Aguilera an Amore.

Few understand the highs and lows of love as much a Bocelli. Evading the question about Veronica, he claims: "I'm always in love - mainly with life." But he is a practical man, as befits his upbringing. "There's a book called 'Those Cursed Tuscan's by Curzio Malaparte - read the first page for a definition." Bocelli is Tuscan born and bred; he grew up on a farm close by and acknowledges that he is typical of the local character. "Tuscans call a spade a spade," he smiles. "Perhaps they're too blunt. Sometimes it's not appropriate to say what you think, even if it is appropriate to think it." He laughs. "I'm made like that." But it has helped him to survive those slings and arrows. Which brings him back to his critics. "When things are said in good faith and they're constructive, I'll listen. But some of it is vindictive or there's some vested interest involved. I listen to my public, my conscience and good advice. Maybe they're write nicer things about me when I'm gone," he concludes cheerily. "That often happens."

Bocelli was born with glaucoma and lost his sight while playing football when he was 12. He refuses to talk about his blindness, considering it irrelevant. Certainly it never held him back. Following the example of a pop star relative and opera singing cousins, he sang along to records and his family's stone fireplace was his first stage. "I never thought of it as a career, I just enjoyed singing."

He studied law at nearby Pisa University, singing in piano bars at night. After a year of legal practice, he came to the attention of Luciano Pavarotti after studying with the great tenor Franco Corelli. Bocelli duetted with Pavarotti on the latter's 1992 album, Miserere, and then toured the world with Italian superstar Zucchero. His first opera albums were revelations but when he ventured into the pop domain with 1999's Sogno album, he sold 10 million records. He admits that he sometimes wishes he had stuck with the legal profession but his regrets are fleeting. "The grass is always greener and I consider myself a lucky man."

Chris Goodman
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"Where are we REALLY going? Always home."

[Tina]

great find Sally! can u send me a scan of the pic at all??? Grazie, Tina xx
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La tua voce e come un dolce dolores nel mio cuore! Non c'e nessuno migliore di te!!

[KathyinCt]

This article is very good. Thank you for posting it, Sally.
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Where there's life, there's hope

[Em]

I quote from the EXPRESS, that Sally posted...thank you..a wonderful read...This insight is what is so charming and real about Andrea.........
"Bocelli talks lyrically and prefers a metaphor where a simple fact will do, apparently a Tuscan trait."
Spoken like the true poet he is
I can relate...when have I not heard, get to the point, Em...some never find it.
ANDREA HAS.... .
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What you truly believe of another, you awaken within them