By true miracle of nature, 66 year-old tenor Andrea Bocelli has never strayed away from his Italian roots, and yet he became an international star across genres and styles — equally comfortable performing full operas, sacred choral works and evergreen pop standards.
Born in 1958 in Tuscany, Bocelli had problems with his vision since childhood due to congenital glaucoma, and lost his sight permanently when he was only 12. He never allowed this setback to hamper his extraordinary singing career, nor his lifelong passion for horseback riding. He released his debut album in 1994, and made it big only two years later thanks to his wondrous vocal chords, his ability to perform in many languages, and a carefully curated repertoire of boleros, romantic balladry and operatic pop.
"I believe that there is a purpose conceived for each one of us. Every life is a story that reflects a specific plan," Bocelli previously told GRAMMY.com. "I personally tried to honor mine, making my voice available to share values, such as love, optimism and brotherhood."
A five-time GRAMMY nominee, Bocelli has released over 15 albums, and is also known for his ability to record unforgettable collaborations with artists from across the globe. The intensity of his vision illuminates every single track of the recently released Duets, a two-disc compilation celebrating 30 years in music.
On Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, CBS and Paramount+ will air "Christmas with Andrea Bocelli And Friends: A GRAMMY Holiday Special," a musical celebration that will find the singer performing a number of Christmas standards accompanied by Dua Lipa, Jennifer Hudson, Josh Groban, Sofia Carson and other guests.
Read more: Christmas Music 2024 Playlist: Listen To 50 New Songs From Pentatonix, Ed Sheeran, LISA & More
As a preview of Bocelli’s spectacular songbook, here are five iconic tracks that illustrate the breadth of his artistry.
If you’re looking for the one track that best sums up Bocelli’s magic, one listen to "Con Te Partiró" should be enough to give you a feel for the maestro’s Midas touch. An exquisite, sinuous melody that unfolds with the unhurried inevitability of a religious ritual, it sounds like a classic aria from a famous Italian opera. In reality, it was composed expressly for Bocelli during the 1990s by pianist Franceso Sartori and the late lyricist Lucio Quarantotto.
Arguably the pinnacle of the operatic pop genre, "Con Te Partiró" has a distinguished recording history. It was performed by the singer at the Sanremo Music Festival, appeared first as a single — topping the charts in France and Belgium — and was included on his second album, 1995’s Bocelli. The following year, he recorded it as a duet with English soprano Sarah Brightman under the title "Time to Say Goodbye." It became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
Both versions bookended Romanza, the 1997 compilation that established Bocelli as an international sensation and major concert attraction. With sales of over 20 million copies — and a remastered, augmented 2016 edition — it remains his most commercially successful album to date.
With its opening piano chords, bombastic drum pattern and the soulful harmonizing of Bocelli and guest vocalist Giorgia, "Vivo Per Lei" sums up the rousing melodrama of vintage Italian pop. The other big smash off the Bocelli album, it was written by Gatto Panceri and Valerio Zelli, and found the singer recording multiple versions in a variety of languages, including the Spanish "Vivo Por Ella" with Marta Sánchez, used as the opening theme for a Mexican telenovela.
In 2024, Bocelli showed his keen understanding of contemporary trends by releasing a revamped version of the song — now favoring a supple rhythm section and digital sonics — with Colombian diva Karol G.
Bocelli made such a splash on the pop charts, that it’s easy to forget what a tremendous impact he had on the commercially challenged field of classical music. His robust tenor is perfectly suited for traditional choral music — and his sixth studio outing, Sacred Arias, became the biggest-selling classical album of all time by a solo artist.
Accompanied by an Italian symphony orchestra, his no-frills version of Charles Gounod’s "Ave Maria" — a mashup of Bach’s sobering Prelude No. 1 in C major with an original melody by Gounod — is mournful to the core.
In 2006, Bocelli celebrated Valentine’s Day in style with the release of the romantically themed Amore, his eleventh studio album. Recorded mostly in Los Angeles and leaning deeply on a plush, traditional Latin pop sound, the album benefited from the production skills of veteran Chilean helmer Humberto Gatica. It includes a duet with Christina Aguilera — the Armando Manzanero balada standard "Somos Novios" — and features by Stevie Wonder and Kenny G. A companion album, Amor, featured Spanish versions of most of its songs.
Bocelli’s reading of the 1932 bolero "Bésame Mucho" became one of his signature tunes. His reading evokes the breathy smoothness of early Julio Iglesias, anchored on a silky cushion of crystal-clear acoustic guitars and subtle accents of Latin percussion.
Only 15 days after Ed Sheeran released a version of his 2017 tune "Perfect" as a duet with Beyoncé (the international hit "Perfect Duet"), he unveiled this lovely operatic cover blessed with the soaring vocalizing of Bocelli, now titled "Perfect Symphony."
Boasting tasteful orchestral coloring recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, this version begins with Sheeran’s solo verse, leaving Bocelli’s booming voice for the second half of the track. The passion and control with which Bocelli delivers his contribution — in Italian, of course — makes it perfectly clear that the maestro from Tuscany can make his prodigious voice a natural fit for any contemporary song, no matter its style, or cultural context.