He’s been a revered classical singer for decades, making it seem easy to sell more than 90 million albums, generate more than 16 billion streams and perform for dignitaries from the Pope to the Kardashians. But this year has hit a little different for Andrea Bocelli.
For starters, it’s been 30 years since his debut album Il Mare Calmo della Sera. To mark the occasion and celebrate his achievements since, he staged a trio of concerts in his home region in Tuscany – with extra significance in it taking place at Teatro del Silenzio, a theatre whose construction he lobbied for. There’s also a cinematic documentary of the event – and indeed, his life – with Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration. As commemorations go, it’s quite the crescendo.
The anniversary concerts were star-studded affairs, as one might expect from a singer who holds the record for the biggest-selling classical album from a solo artist (1999′s Sacred Arias). Guests onstage included Ed Sheeran, Shania Twain, Will Smith and Brian May. With the world’s great and good descending on this small Tuscan venue – an hour from Forte dei Marmi, where he lives with second wife Veronica Berti and their daughter Virginia – you can only imagine it led to after-parties to trump all after-parties. When we virtually meet, with an interpreter on hand, Bocelli concedes “there was a significant celebration after the concert”.
“I remember one night in particular, my son Mateo, Johnny Depp, Ed Sheeran and Russell Crowe took a jeep and went to our property. They made pasta together, and they were up until 6am. Just to give you an idea of the amazing atmosphere.”
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Oh, to have been a fly on the wall there.
As a child growing up on a farm in the small Tuscan village of La Sterza, Bocelli found himself captivated by music. Born with a genetic condition that impaired his eyesight, he lost his vision completely at age 12, after being struck by a football. Though he learned to live with the disability – he went on to study law, and enjoys horse-riding as a pastime – his life took another unexpected turn when Italian rock legend Zucchero sought a tenor to demo Miserere for Pavarotti.
Enamoured of his voice, Pavarotti convinced Zucchero to record the song with Bocelli instead. It proved to be an inspired decision: the song was a global hit – and it turned the Tuscan lawyer into a household name.
Since then, Bocelli has continued to merge contemporary and classical music, much to the chagrin of classical purists. Duets, his newest album, brings together the 66-year-old’s best collaborations to date plus newly recorded ones, with guest appearances from the likes of Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Mary J Blige, Celine Dion, and more.
Which singer, I ask, surprised him the most? “Every successful artist has some specific characteristics and features, and it is a privilege to work with them,” he says. “I particularly remember the collaboration with Celine Dion with a lot of affection, because after recording The Prayer with me, she also attended my Central Park concert, which was one of the most iconic moments of my career. I’ve always had a very good working and personal relationship with her.”
This year will be rounded off by a well-earned Christmas at home, he envisages. But as a devout Catholic, he says he is “interested in the real meaning of Christmas more than traditions”. “For me, the meaning is to go to Mass with my family on Christmas Day. It’s not the moment when you unwrap your gifts or you put up the Christmas tree.”
Next year Bocelli will be on the road again, including two concerts in Ireland, where he has performed many times before. He’s looking forward to reconnecting with “a very warm audience, who are very passionate about my music”.
I wonder, looking back over his 30 years, what advice he might have given himself at the start of his career? “Maybe to work less,” he replies. “At some points, I overdid it. Like, after the pandemic, I had to make up for all the concerts that had been cancelled, and that was very, very stressful for me.
“Luckily that moment is over. But I still feel like there’s a lot to do.”
Duets is out now. Andrea Bocelli plays the 3Arena in Dublin on April 27th and 28th, 2025
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