Andrea Bocelli : I would love to leave a legacy of peace, optimism, serenity.
By Kevin JoyThe Columbus Dispatch Sunday November 27, 2011 5:23 AM
The man with the rich, honeyed tenor heard on the biggest-selling classical solo album of all time and likened by Celine Dion to the singing voice of God speaks slowly with a subdued tone, the lengthier answers issued in his native Italian tongue and translated by an assistant.
Brief quips in reply to standard queries that the performer has been asked too many times to count arrive in basic English.
They ve asked me anything, on every level, said the 53-year-old Andrea Bocelli , speaking by phone last month with a mild weariness that indicated the many interviews being granted that day.
He shouldn t be surprised, as the vocalist has achieved wild success during the past 14 years in giving wide exposure and flair to centuries-old music of which many listeners have only peripheral knowledge.
His pop-influenced Romanza album (1997) boasts sales of more than 20 million copies, the most by an Italian artist of any genre. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is recognized by Guinness World Records for simultaneously holding the top three slots on the U.S. classical-music charts.
What has propelled his global dominance, particularly in a genre that often struggles to resonate with modern audiences?
It s very hard to answer a question like this, said Bocelli, who will perform Thursday in Nationwide Arena. Success doesn t have rules. It s always quite mysterious. I have an answer, but it s very personal, and it might sound like simplifying probably that my voice is a gift from God.
When God gives you a gift, a talent, it is your responsibility to try to improve on it as much as possible because you have to share it with the world.
And share he does.
After winning the newcomer category at Italy s San Remo Music Festival in 1994 and rising to initial prominence three years later, Bocelli has since performed for dignitaries from President Barack Obama to Pope Benedict XVI, while also offering up an operatic rendition of Jingle Bells with the Muppets.
Such apparent incongruities don t inspire the singer to change course.
I believe, no matter what song you have to sing, you need to treat it with the same respect, he said. You need to learn it, feel it within yourself, to convey that to your audience.
Likewise, Bocelli s wide-ranging repertoire represents a love of diverse music that transcends language and geography.
On his recent album, Concerto: One Night in Central Park, recorded live in September, selections range from well-known operatic arias (Giuseppe Verdi s La donna e mobile and Libiamo ne lieti calici among them) and vintage pop standards (a New York, New York duet with Tony Bennett) to traditional hymns such as Amazing Grace.
The Columbus show will be no less varied, featuring a balance of both worlds plus some Christmas tunes, backed by a 71-piece orchestra of area musicians and a choir of 60 singers from choral groups at Ohio State University.
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