Andrea Bocelli

Andrea Bocelli (born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor who first gained widespread attention in 1994 by winning the newcomers' category at the 44th Sanremo Music Festival with his performance of "Il mare calmo della sera". Since that breakthrough, Bocelli has released 15 solo studio albums spanning pop and classical music, three greatest hits collections, and nine complete operas. His total record sales exceed 90 million worldwide. Known as a crossover artist, he has brought classical music to the top of international pop charts.

His album Romanza ranks among the best-selling albums of all time, while Sacred Arias holds the record as the biggest-selling classical album by any solo artist. My Christmas was the top-selling holiday album of 2009 and remains one of the best-selling holiday albums in the United States. His 2019 album Sì reached number one on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, marking his first number-one album in each country. The song "Con te partirò", a duet with Sarah Brightman from his second album Bocelli, is one of the best-selling singles ever.

1998–1999: Aria: The Opera Album, Sogno and Sacred Arias

In 1998, People magazine named Bocelli one of its 50 Most Beautiful People. He sang a duet with Celine Dion on "The Prayer" for the animated film Quest for Camelot; the song won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1999, he received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. With the release of Sacred Arias, Bocelli entered the Guinness Book of World Records by simultaneously holding the top three positions on the US Classical Albums charts.

Bocelli was appointed a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2006 and was elevated to Knight Grand Cross in 2025. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 2 March 2010 for his contribution to live theater, and was awarded a gold medal for Merit in Serbia in 2022. Celine Dion has remarked that if God had a singing voice, it would sound like Andrea Bocelli, and producer David Foster has often called Bocelli's voice the most beautiful in the world. Andrea Bocelli was born on 22 September 1958 to Alessandro and Edi Bocelli.

Early life

He was born with congenital glaucoma, which impaired his sight from birth. Bocelli has said that his mother’s decision to give birth to him against a doctor’s advice—who recommended abortion due to the high likelihood of disability—inspired his opposition to abortion. He grew up on the family farm in the small village of La Sterza, near Lajatico, Tuscany, about 40 km south of Pisa, alongside his younger brother Alberto. The family sold farm machinery and made wine.

Music was a deep passion from early childhood; his mother noted that only music could comfort him. He began piano lessons at age six and later learned flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, and drums. His nanny, Oriana, gave him his first Franco Corelli record, sparking his interest in becoming a tenor. By age seven, he could recognize famous voices and tried to imitate great singers.

At age 12, Bocelli lost his vision completely after being hit in the eye with a football. Doctors attempted to save his sight with leeches, but the effort failed, and he remained blind. He sang from childhood, giving his first concert in a nearby village. At 14, he won his first song competition with "'O sole mio" at the Margherita d'Oro in Viareggio.

1992–1994: Sanremo and Il mare calmo della sera

After finishing secondary school in 1980, he studied law at the University of Pisa. To earn money, he performed evenings in piano bars, where he met his future wife Enrica in 1987. He completed law school and worked for a year as a court-appointed lawyer. Career: 1992–1994: Sanremo and Il mare calmo della sera In 1992, Italian rock star Zucchero held auditions for tenors to record a demo of his song "Miserere" for Luciano Pavarotti.

After hearing Bocelli on tape, Pavarotti urged Zucchero to use Bocelli instead. Pavarotti eventually convinced Zucchero to record the song with Bocelli, and it became a hit across Europe. During Zucchero’s 1993 European tour, Bocelli performed the duet with him and also sang solo sets, including "Nessun dorma" from Puccini’s Turandot. After Caterina Caselli heard Bocelli sing "Miserere" and "Nessun Dorma" at a birthday party for Zucchero, he signed with Sugar Music in Milan.

In December, Bocelli entered the preliminary round of the Sanremo Music Festival in the Giovani category, singing "Miserere," and won with the highest marks ever recorded in the newcomers' section. On 28 December, he made his classical debut at the Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia. In February 1994, he competed in the main Sanremo Festival with "Il mare calmo della sera" and won the newcomers' section, again with a record score. His debut album of the same name was released in April, entered the Italian Top Ten, and went platinum within weeks.

In May 1994, Bocelli toured with pop singer Gerardina Trovato. Four months later, he sang at Pavarotti’s annual charity gala in Modena, performing Leoncavallo’s "Mattinata" and a duet with Pavarotti, "Notte e Piscatore." That same month, he made his opera debut as Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa. Around 1994, partly through reading Russian author Leo Tolstoy, Bocelli—who had been agnostic—returned to the Catholic faith. He performed the hymn "Adeste Fideles" in...