[Andrea Bocelli in Italian]
I've always had faith in my own
destiny.
[singer vocalizing]
[Veronica asks]
Are you ready, Maestro?
[Bocelli narrating]
I was born with an affinity for
music, and it grew
like my hands, my arms and my
legs.
The first thing I do in the
morning
when I get on my feet,
is to test my voice.
If my voice sounds good,
I relax and wait for the
concert.
[singer vocalizing]
[Bocelli narrating]
This place brings back memories
of a great concert 33 years ago.
The three most famous tenors
in the world sang here.
[performing "Nessun dorma"]
[Bocelli speaking]
Virginia?
In 1990, an historical concert
took place here.
For the first time, the three
most important tenors in the
world,
Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras,
sang together.
And it was broadcast all over
the world.
This is the place.
Can you show me... Where's mum?
Can you show me
where the stage is?
Let's take your dad to the
stage.
[Bocelli speaking]
They sang here,
was the public over there?
Which one is the long side?
The one facing the audience, of
course.
Like any other stage,
but it's a narrow rectangle.
-It's very long, rather narrow.
-Ah.
And behind you,
there's a wonder.
[performing "Nessun Dorma"]
[vocalizes]
[clears throat]
[Bocelli narrating]
The echo of that concert
still resonates within me.
I feel the weight of that
responsibility.
[wardrobe supervisor speaks]
Andrea, let's change your
trousers.
[Bocelli speaking]
What?
Forget about it!
Who cares?
-No, Andrea.
-There's no difference.
Please, do me this favor.
I don't want to change my
trousers.
-These feel good.
-But these will look better.
[Bocelli speaking]
No! Where is Veronica?
Where is she?
[staff speaking]
She's coming, Andrea.
[whistling in tune
of "Nessun dorma"]
[Veronica asks]
Tell me, Andrea.
I don't want to change my
trousers.
[Veronica asks]
Who said that you should change?
[wardrobe supervisor speaks]
You said he had to change his
suit?
Who said that?
- [wardrobe supervisor speaks]
Alessandro.
- [Alessandro speaks]
No.
-You did!
-Calm down, behave.
Don't change a thing,
just put a waistcoat on.
I didn't say it.
Behave.
[Bocelli] Mmm.
[vocalizes]
["Nessun dorma" continues]
[audience applauding]
[Bocelli narrating]
As a child, I'd dream of
making a living with music.
My biggest dream was
to be accompanied by an
orchestra.
["Nessun dorma" continues]
Reality has exceeded my dreams.
- [music stops]
- [audience applauds]
[singing "Che gelida manina"]
[Bocelli narrating]
I am very attached
to the land where I come from,
but mostly to my language.
["Che gelida manina" playing]
[Bocelli narrating]
The hardest thing for me,
when I'm around the world,
is to speak in languages
other than my own.
["Che gelida manina" continues]
[song fades]
This is the first property
bought
by my ancestors in 1831.
My ancestors were farmers
under Prince Corsini.
[Bocelli narrating]
My parents sold
farming equipment,
from tractors to bolts.
["A te, o cara" playing]
[Bocelli narrating]
I remember my father
as a great gentleman.
My mother was one
of the feistiest people I've
ever met.
She was a great saleswoman.
I came out different.
["A te, o cara" playing]
This one must be closed so the
horse doesn't run away,
or Emiliano will tell me off.
Nevado!
Come here.
Open your mouth, come on.
Show me your teeth.
See.
Sorry.
How to complicate simple
things...
Good, first step is done.
[door thuds]
[grunts]
[horse blows]
- [grunts]
- [birds chirp]
Hang on, I'll put it properly.
Something is not working.
In the rush, it was assembled
the wrong way.
Yes. This goes below, like this.
This one goes this way up.
Now it should be all right.
It was the wrong way round.
So,
the correct notch should be
the most used one.
Come on,
Let's see if...
it's the right notch.
We're good to go now.
Behave, little horse.
Emiliano, come here to check
how many mistakes I've made.
I put the strap the wrong way
round.
Exactly, but I noticed it.
[Bocelli speaking]
But do tell them!
I did it on purpose
to see if you'd notice.
- [Bocelli speaking]
To make my life harder!
- [both chuckle]
[Bocelli speaking]
But the horse is now saddled.
- [whistling]
- ["A te, o cara" continues]
[Bocelli narrating]
As a child, I used to dream
day and night about horses.
[kids shouting]
[Bocelli narrating] My
grandfather expressed his wish
to buy me a horse before dying.
As soon as he passed away,
my dad set off to a farm
and he returned home with a
Haflinger
horse, apt for a boy.
When I came back from boarding
school,
I found this huge surprise.
My father told me,
"She is yours."
That was one of my greatest
joys.
[horse neighs]
[Bocelli narrating] From that
day on, I started riding and
falling, then I learned.
It was my greatest obsession as
a child,
- [mumbles]
- [narration continues]
and it stuck with me.
[speaks, exhales]
[narration continues]
Ordinary people think, "How can
he go horse-riding on his own?"
This nonsense comes from
ignorance.
["Questa o quella" playing]
[horse hooves clip-clopping]
[Bocelli mumbling]
[Bocelli narrating]
I spent most of my life
outdoors,
doing all things a country boy
does.
This is what I'm used to.
I was obsessed with riding.
When I was young, I even got
lost once.
One morning, before going to
university.
I woke up really early
and went galloping in the woods,
in our stunning countryside.
[horse neighs]
[Bocelli narrating]
I was minding my own business,
and I realized I was totally
lost.
I tied my horse and waited
for someone to look for me.
I won't tell you what my father
said to me after they found me.
I'd always go out alone.
I was quite reckless.
["Musetta!
Testa adorata" playing]
Zero fear.
[singing "Musetta!
Testa adorata"]
[Bocelli narrating]
Music has helped me to live
well.
It's made my life beautiful.
My favorite musical genre is
opera,
always has been.
Opera is music's heaven.
It reaches the sublime.
And it's one of the highest
forms of art humans have ever
achieved.
To stage an opera, it takes
thousands of years of study.
Because there are
80 or 90 musicians,
who have studied, on average,
eight to nine years each.
[narration continues]
Then, there's the choir,
the singers,
the conductor, the director...
I said a thousand years,
but that's not enough.
[Bocelli speaking]
Virgi?
-Are you still painting?
-Hi, Virgi.
Of course.
Hi, Pierpa.
Go ahead.
We should listen to this music
on our knees.
It was recorded in San Carlo
in the '60s.
[mumbling]
[Bocelli narrating]
It all started when
I was a newborn in hospital.
[baby wailing]
[whirring]
[Bocelli narrating]
My eyes would hurt a lot.
["La donna mobile" playing]
By chance, in the room next
door,
a Russian man had a record
player.
My mother noticed
that when he played music,
I'd stop crying.
That was a huge discovery.
They noticed that I preferred
the opera records.
[conversing]
[Bocelli narrating]
When I was a young boy,
I learned very soon
how to play vinyl on my own,
I had this record player
and I'd play the record,
and then I'd circle around the
table like a nut case.
Oriana was my nanny,
I was very close to her.
I must have been six or seven
years old.
One day she came home
with a newspaper.
"Franco Corelli stuns La Scala."
She told me, "You must ask for
his record,
"so we can listen to it
together."
That was the fateful meeting
with Franco Corelli.
Which changed my life.
[performing
"Andrea Chnier Act 1:
Un di all'azzurro spazio"]
[Bocelli narrating]
It was love at first sight.
I was gobsmacked by his voice.
It was like something went
through me.
He was my virtual teacher,
and later,
he became my real teacher as
I met him at a masterclass he
held in Turin.
[singing
"Meco all'altar di venere"]
[Bocelli narrating]
My lessons with Corelli
were a revelation.
He put his hand on my shoulder
and said, "You have a beautiful
voice."
It was one of the most
moving moments in my career.
His most valuable lesson
was on expression.
[performing "La donna mobile"]
- [song ends]
- [audience applauds]
[clears throat]
[Bocelli speaking]
Let's discuss Caracalla.
[Marco speaking over video call]
It started as a tribute to
the Three Tenors concert.
That's the inspiration.
Marco,
very important...
How did Inter Milan play
yesterday?
[Marco speaking]
Yesterday was a great victory
for Inter Milan.
[Carlo speaking]
So, we've drafted an idea,
involving two sopranos,
and one baritone here as well.
The first half will be our usual
opera,
and the second half will be a
mix of Neapolitan songs and
operetta.
There'll be no pop.
The first song could be
the overture from Candide.
Then La donna mobile
and Di quella pira with the
choir.
Something's not right here...
[Carlo speaking]
Hang on, let me read it first,
then we'll discuss.
So, after the Andrea Chnier
duet,
we'd break it with Toreador
sang by the baritone.
[Veronica speaking]
No, you can't have Andrea
just coming on at the end,
he can't just do four minutes.
This doesn't work.
You need two or three more songs
with Andrea.
You can't come in at the end.
We've never had you on and off,
singing just one song in the
first half.
Do you get it?
You can't just sing O soave
fanciulla.
This won't do.
You need to sing
at least two or three songs.
People come to hear you, not
others.
Have the baritone in the second
half.
What do you think?
[Marco answers]
Yes, sure.
- [Carlo asks]
How about the encore?
Con te partir?
Are you feeling okay?
No.
No, no. [speaks Italian]
He's got a fever.
Bye, guys.
- [Carlo asks] Are you happy?
- [Bocelli speaks] It's been
lovely.
But meetings that go over 20
minutes
are useless.
- [man] Ciao!
- [Veronica speaking]
[Bocelli whistling]
[singing]
[whistling]
[performing "Tace il labbro"]
[Cristina speaks]
Hi, Andrea.
[chuckles]
I couldn't wait to be here!
Ah.
I just couldn't wait!
- [Bocelli] Grazie.
- [chuckles]
-So?
-Hi, welcome to Caracalla.
-Thank you.
-Let's hope all is well.
How come?
I've struggled terribly with my
voice
since the beginning of the year.
Now it's slowly getting better.
I saw a specialist here in Rome.
He really probed me.
- Basically, he put a straw up
my nose,
- [chuckles]
with a small balloon at the end,
which inflates once inside.
And then, it starts vibrating,
ten minutes inside each nostril.
Well, you have no idea
what came out of there.
-Incredible.
- Fabulous.
[Cristina speaks] He told me
that I have the healthiest vocal
chords he's ever seen.
- [Massimo speaks] Thank God!
- [Veronica speaks] No excuses.
At my age, I could stop.
[Massimo speaks]
It's not true.
[Veronica speaks]
I've been hearing this for 22
years.
When I met him he'd say,
"I'm retiring."
I've lost weight, though.
That's true.
You look really good.
-I lost a lot.
-All good.
But you've gained weight since
your wedding.
My wife is Sicilian.
She cooks well.
[performing
"Voglio vivere cos"]
[Bocelli speaking]
You do realize that tomorrow
night when I am singing,
my team is playing
in the Champions League final?
It only happens once in a blue
moon.
-Yeah, I remember.
-[Cristina laughs]
Your team...
I'm considering listening to the
match on my earpiece whilst I
sing.
-Really?
-[Cristina laughs]
[performing
"Voglio vivere cos"]
And if Inter Milan scores...
Did you hear
the team's line up?
No.
Deko and Lautaro,
but Lukaku starts
on the bench.
[sports commentator speaking]
Lautaro Martinez makes a pass
to his teammates.
The Champions League final
has started...
[performing
"Voglio vivere cos"]
[sports commentator speaking]
An attempt from Stones,
he touches the ball...
[clears throat, vocalizes]
It's not working, damn!
[stomps foot]
Do you have a wi-fi for him?
Nil-nil.
- [clears throat]
- [indistinct commentary]
[commentary stops]
This thing is not working!
[performing
"Voglio vivere cos"]
[Carlo asks]
What's the score?
Nil-nil.
-[sports commentator speaking]
Bernardo centers the ball...
-No!
Goal...
-Have they scored?
-Yeah...
The game is over.
[Carlos speaks]
No, there's still 30 minutes to
go.
But now their morale will be
low.
- [song ends]
- [audience applauds]
[sports commentator speaking]
Manchester City wins
their first Champions League!
[vocalizing]
[Bocelli narrating]
I don't like losing.
I don't possess this quality.
I greatly admire those
who can lose philosophically.
Losing is not for me.
[playing "Moonlight Sonata"]
[Bocelli narrating]
But I'm a lucky man.
I was born and raised
in a loving family.
I've had partners who have loved
me,
and I really love my job.
I can now say I've spent
more than half my life with you.
-You can't say the same.
-No.
So far!
But, I hope, one day,
to say the same.
After your mother, I'm the woman
who's been around the longest.
Well, one day,
I hope to say the same.
[Bocelli speaking]
Shortly after we met,
I was due to travel to America.
-Back then, it was early days...
-Those were the early days.
Our desire was burning.
So, I asked her,
"Will you come to America with
me?"
I'll never forget her reply,
"I'm happy to join you,
if you give me a job.
"I don't want to sponge off
you."
I smiled, because I thought that
she was already doing enough.
I had to earn my place on that
trip.
I told her I'd find her a job,
though I didn't know what.
But she sought it out herself,
the way determined people do.
She said,
"I see what needs doing."
Just saying,
I can't stay too long in one
place.
Thank God, your work
keeps you on the move.
We're a perfect match...
For now!
Once you stop moving for work,
you'll have to do it for love.
Bye!
-You'll have to stick around for
a bit.
-Don't count on it.
I was clear from the start!
You know that.
So was I.
[interviewer speaking] Maestro,
can you tell us about your
performance at the King's
Coronation?
You must be very proud to
represent Italy at such an
historic event.
[Bocelli speaking]
In a few days,
an historic event will take
place.
The Coronation of King Charles.
I've had the honor of being
invited.
More than proud,
I'm delighted.
These invitations, like awards
too,
are a tangible manifestation
of admiration and affection.
This is what we live for.
- [interviewer speaks] Thank you
very much, Maestro.
- [Bocelli answers] You are
welcome.
Virgi?
- [Virginia speaks] I'm
painting.
- [Bocelli asks] What?
[Virginia speaks]
A plant.
Is it like a tree?
No, it's more like a bunch of
leaves.
So, it's a bush?
Dad...
have you always believed in
yourself?
What a difficult question you
ask.
I've always been happy with who
I am, and what I have.
What do you mean
by believing in myself?
I know my limitations,
as well as my strengths.
Can you tell me
what's been the best moment of
your life?
No, because luckily I've had
many.
Starting with the birth of you
three,
[Virginia chuckles]
so, that makes it three already.
[both chuckle]
And your worst moment?
Worst moment?
Well, I've had
difficult moments in my life.
Starting from when I was a
child...
and I had to leave my family,
to go to a boarding school,
very far away from home.
Perhaps that was the saddest
moment
in my life.
[somber music playing]
[Bocelli narrating]
As a child...
I was considered
extremely short-sighted.
I could see everything
but only from up close.
I remember extremely well
the world I saw.
Colors, everything.
How could I forget those
memories?
[Bocelli speaking]
So, Bocelli?
How are the grapes this year?
[Alberto speaking]
It's looking good.
We have a beautiful colonnade.
We've got eight of grandfather's
rows of vineyard left.
[Alberto speaking]
My brother, Andrea,
aged three and a half,
due to congenital glaucoma,
had already been operated on
13 times in Turin.
It was t*rture.
We have raised beds here.
The salads are easily reachable,
see?
It's high enough.
[Alberto speaking]
Aged six, no local school would
take him.
So at seven, Andrea went to a
boarding school for the visually
impaired.
He would come home
only in the holidays.
We'd go visit him once a month.
[indistinct]
[Bocelli narrating]
Aged 12, I was still in boarding
school.
- [ball bounces]
- [kids shouting]
[narration continues]
One day, playing football,
I was the goalkeeper.
No idea why,
as I'd never been goalie before,
and I never would be goalie
again.
[ball thudding]
A ball hit me right in the face.
From that blow,
a hemorrhage...
[shouting, cheering]
and the rest is history.
[Alberto speaking]
That's when he lost...
That's when darkness fell.
[indistinct chatter]
[Edi speaking]
I could see my son would never
go far if I were overprotective.
But it was hard for
his grandparents to see this,
or his aunt to see it.
They only saw a "poor blind
boy."
I could never accept
this idea of the "poor boy".
Above all, Andrea never
accepted any form of pity.
He'd say,
"What's the point of pity?"
We've raised him on these
principles.
With courage.
With a lot of courage.
[Bocelli narrating]
My mother feared
I wouldn't be able to fend for
myself.
She worked really hard
to provide me
with tranquility and stability.
[Bocelli speaking]
What kind of keyboard is this?
Odd one. I've never seen it.
[singing]
-Are there curtains there?
-[Veronica answers] Yes.
Then I can't warm up my voice
here.
-[Veronica asks] What should I
do?
-Nothing.
You can't do anything about it.
[resumes singing]
This is pointless,
I'm gonna end up ruining it.
[director asks]
What's the problem?
These are sound absorbant,
so you project your voice,
and it doesn't bounce back.
By pushing it, you strain it.
Andrea, tomorrow we could put up
some sound reflecting surfaces.
The less time I spend in this
room, the better.
I'll somehow warm my voice up
last minute.
[Bocelli narrating]
Sound propagates by hitting
all the obstacles in its path.
If you pay attention,
you can hear it bounce back.
It's a skill we all have,
but you don't develop it.
["Venetian Boat Song
Op. 30, No. 6" playing]
- Ha!
- [stops playing]
- [Bocelli speaks] Good.
- [teacher chuckles]
Well done,
I hadn't heard it before.
Yes, I've played it before.
-I don't think so.
-Yes!
-I'd say it's 90% there.
-Yes.
Something is missing, but
overall...
There's still uncertainty in the
leaps.
She adds some variations based
on her musical taste.
Her memory is good,
she learns quickly.
The musicality helps her.
Yes, she's got that.
-Daddy...
-That's the one thing you cannot
learn.
Daddy, when did you start
playing the piano?
-Who?
-You.
I was eight years old.
-Would you like to play?
-No.
You should study more
because you have musicality.
When you receive a gift,
you have to nurture it.
You have to value it.
["Venetian Boat Song
Op. 30, No. 6" playing]
[Bocelli narrating] My ability
to sing is nothing but a gift,
that manifested itself early on.
A sign of destiny.
["Pour mon me,
quel destin" playing]
[narration continues]
As a boy, my family,
friends and relatives
would ask me to perform
by the fireplace.
That was my first stage.
And whether it was
at church on Sundays,
at birthday parties,
or any other celebration,
any excuse was invented to make
me sing.
[young Bocelli speaking]
From Andrea Chnier,
Andrea Bocelli will sing
Un d, all'azzurro spazio.
- [applause]
- [mic feedback]
[singing
"Un d all'azzurro spazio"]
[applause]
[Bocelli narrating] The first
big applause I received,
was at boarding school.
I must have been
ten years old.
[playing piano]
At boarding school, they
realized I could sing early
on.
So they convinced me
to go on stage and sing a song.
I chose O sole mio.
It was chaotic when I started
singing,
so no one noticed me to begin
with.
But then, at the key moment...
[playing "O sole mio"]
I realized silence had fallen in
the room.
This silence continued
throughout my singing,
followed by a massive applause.
It truly stunned me.
Since that day,
I was always asked to sing this
and that to entertain.
[indistinct chatter]
[friend speaking]
Let's not count calories
tonight.
[Bocelli speaking]
You shouldn't use parmesan.
It should just be pecorino
romano.
We're putting both in.
Okay.
[Bocelli narrating]
I've remained firmly attached
to my old friends.
[friend speaking]
I will add bacon,
but no onion or garlic.
'Cause I don't want Romans
turning in their graves.
-You need to add garlic.
-Why garlic?
It goes in the saut.
No!
You've spent too much time
in the US.
I used to add a lot of it.
A lot of it.
I used to chop it all up.
It was his specialty.
Carbonara with garlic is almost
worse
than carbonara with cream.
[indistinct chatter]
[Sergio speaking]
Andrea is like a brother to me.
[children laughing]
[Sergio continues]
I've known Andrea since I was
born.
He lived next to me,
we grew up together.
[children indistinct]
[Sergio continues]
He was one of us,
he had to be with us.
-When's dinner?
-Come over here, Adriano.
[Adriano speaking]
I'm afraid of the dog.
Come here, that's nonsense.
The only time Adriano and I
argued was over a dog.
He was afraid of my wolfdog.
He'd tell him, "Bite him!"
[Sergio speaking]
You did tell him that.
[Adriano speaking]
No, I'll stay over here.
[clicking tongue]
Go to Adriano.
If it bites me...
-I knew it.
-Look how it stands up!
Adriano, I have a horse
I'd love you to ride.
Yeah, right.
The kind of horse
I'd dream of as a kid,
but couldn't afford.
[Adriano narrating]
We met in our first year of
secondary school,
during the teenage years,
the first heartbreaks, the first
torments,
in 1971.
It's been 52 years.
Too long.
We've been acquainted
for over half a century.
-Crazy.
-It's all very sad.
[laughter]
Why don't you tell us
how you met Adriano?
My meeting with Adriano
isn't funny, it's rather moving.
[Veronica speaks]
Move us!
There were mostly girls in our
class.
And very few male specimens.
[Veronica and Bocelli
conversing]
-I imagine your disappointment.
-I was extremely happy.
They placed me right next
to a high caliber b*llet.
The famous blonde?
[Bocelli] Mm-hmm.
Two hours later, we had French
in another classroom.
I was a bit disoriented.
I thought, "Who can take me
there?"
As I was figuring out
a solution to my problem,
I felt a firm hand on my
shoulder,
and a voice said,
"Do you want to sit together
in French class?"
"Absolutely."
From that moment, the friendship
we built...
still endures.
[indistinct chatter]
[Adriano narrating]
I remember he appeared in front
of us
he was wearing a tie, a white
shirt,
hair slicked with water, dark
sunglasses.
[singing]
[Adriano narrating]
Despite his outfit and this
armor he put on,
you could glimpse what lay
within him.
A whole world was there.
Andrea was there.
He needed to come out of his
shell.
- [indistinct chatter]
- [utensils clink]
[Bocelli narrating]
When I was 15 or 16...
I was trying to fit in.
- [wine pours]
- [utensils clink]
[Bocelli narrating]
Adriano is the person who taught
me all the little things.
Opening up an unknown world for
me.
["Il diavolo
e l'angelo" playing]
[Bocelli narrating]
Even when it came to fashion.
I remember he took me to a store
where I bought
my first Levi's outfit.
["Il diavolo
e l'angelo" playing]
[Bocelli speaking]
That was a revolution!
By dressing like that, I felt
immediately more accepted.
The saying, "Clothes don't make
the man..." I don't know if I
agree.
They do make the man a bit.
[Adriano speaking]
Even body language
is something blind people often
lack.
We talked about gestures a lot.
With his hands he felt how I
moved.
He touched my face when I smiled
he felt my smile,
when my grin would fade or not.
He picked up many gestures
in those times we spent
together.
With the lightheartedness
of a 14-year-old.
He says he still carries
this knowledge with him.
[chef speaking]
Maestro!
Carbonara without garlic!
Good, but I think it lacks
garlic.
[laughter]
Cheers!
[Bocelli speaking]
In the beginning of high school,
my classmates listened to hits
of the time.
I was the odd one out.
We'd tease each other.
They'd say, "Stop yelling,"
when I sang opera.
And I'd reply,
"You listen to these voiceless
singers."
It was a constant battle.
[whooping, cheering]
["La pi bella
del mondo" playing]
[Bocelli continues]
After many years of musical
exclusion,
that was the time when
I attempted to get into pop
music.
I realized other genres offered
other wonderful types of music.
["La pi bella
del mondo" continues]
[Bocelli continues]
My passion for music
became a proper job
the moment I made some money out
of it.
This dates back
to my first year at university
when I was studying law.
When, to make ends meet,
I accepted the offer to play in
a piano bar.
["Prima Che Sia" playing]
[Bocelli continues]
My first piano bar was
The Boccaccio Club,
25 kilometers from my house.
Every day except for Mondays.
Three hours every night
and sometimes four on a
Saturday.
No rest, we can say.
So, I paid my dues.
I would sing all the classic pop
hits.
...the end is near
And so I face
the final curtain...
[Bocelli continues]
I loved Frank Sinatra, Charles
Aznavour, Ornella Vanoni, Mina.
I started having fun
and earning cash,
to indulge myself occasionally,
buying instruments,
for instance.
Most importantly,
it gave me the chance to meet
girls,
which was something
we all longed for.
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all...
[Bocelli speaking]
During my piano bar days,
I got the urge to go back
to studying piano.
My friendship with Andrea
dates back to 1986.
[Bocelli speaking]
I was introduced to Carlo.
He had graduated in piano,
so, he played really well.
So I asked him,
"Why don't you give me lessons?
"I want to get good."
He was dragging his feet.
He didn't want me as a student!
He was convinced
I'd waste his time.
He thought, "He's just a
piano-bar player."
I'd come up with
the craziest excuses,
"I have to bring my dog to the
vet."
"I have to drive my Mum to my
sister's."
[friend asks]
Did you give piano lessons?
Yes, but he was a piano-bar
player!
Whilst I was used to teaching
Chopin, Bach, Beethoven.
-Why waste my time?
-With a piano-bar guy?
But he was so persistent...
and, finally, I ran out of
excuses.
[Veronica laughs]
One day I agreed,
"Okay, come for a lesson."
I learned a lot with him.
I got to play everything.
[Carlo speaking]
He got to play proficiently,
at a diploma level.
Within five or six years.
-Because I was focused.
-He studied six hours per day.
[conversation continues]
[interviewer and Bocelli
conversing]
-Any flaws?
-I am full of flaws.
First of all, I'm stubborn.
I've always refused
to move away from home
to Milan or Rome.
So you give up...
Simply because I'm happy here.
I like it here.
- [chair thuds]
- [grunts softly]
[automated voice on phone]
Game menu, button.
[Bocelli speaks]
Let's see if this match is the
one.
- [beeps]
- [automated voice]
Look for an opponent.
[Bocelli narrating]
Everything started when no one
believed anything would happen,
before I turned 30.
Thanks to Zucchero one of the
biggest Italian rock
stars.
D4.
["Quando" playing]
[Bocelli continues]
Zucchero was going to record
in a studio in Modena.
I'd been to that studio myself
to record a demo.
[performing "Quando"]
[Bocelli speaking]
So, when Zucchero turned up
to record Miserere...
["Quando" continues]
[Bocelli continues]
he heard my recordings,
and asked for me immediately.
[performing "Quando"]
[Zucchero speaking]
I came up with Miserere,
because I was feeling miserable.
I was feeling terrible,
depressed and had just
separated.
All the usual family problems
that, sadly, many of us have.
["Miserere" playing]
[Zucchero speaking]
I was looking
for a tenor voice,
to present the song I'd written
for Luciano Pavarotti.
I had to work to persuade
Luciano Pavarotti.
He convinced me
by sending me a demo.
Bocelli was singing on it,
who was young and ambitious.
[Zucchero speaks, chuckles]
Promising.
[Pavarotti speaking]
When I heard the tenor on the
tape,
I rang him and told him,
"If you have the guy from the
tape, you don't need me.
"Because he's really good."
[Bocelli speaking] It seemed
like a great opportunity,
but then we got the news
that Maestro Pavarotti had
accepted.
The dream vanished.
This song Miserere came out.
It was Luciano Pavarotti's
version.
["Miserere" playing]
[whimpers softly]
- [automated voice]
- [mumbling]
He can either take me with the
queen... yes.
[Bocelli speaking]
My mother used to tell me,
"You'll never amount to
anything, you do nothing to be
someone.
"You don't make any effort."
[horse neighs]
Perhaps I was a bit lazy
living in the countryside,
where I was born and bred.
I was happy with my pets,
my horses, my friends.
I wasn't motivated
to send audition tapes around
Italy.
It was mostly my mother who sent
them out.
She never got encouraging
responses.
I found myself surrounded
by a gloomy atmosphere,
especially from my parents and
all.
I told my mum,
"I am not saying this to comfort
you,
"but I think it's happening
soon."
It was something I felt inside,
that I cannot explain, just like
you can't explain a color or a
sound.
There's no explanation.
I felt it. Period.
[audience cheers]
[Zucchero speaking]
Miserere was successful.
We toured various stadiums.
But Luciano declined it
because he was very busy.
["Miserere" playing]
So, I summoned Andrea
to sing the tenor part.
[performing "Miserere"]
- [audience applauds]
- [Zucchero] Andrea Bocelli!
[Zucchero speaking] I witnessed
an incredible reaction,
from a young audience.
[Bocelli speaking]
When the audience saw me live on
stage,
they decided it was time
to give me a chance.
It's always up to the audience
to decide.
I've always been fatalistic
especially in those moments.
I let things happen...
as God wished for them to
happen.
[Zucchero speaking]
The idea of merging pop and
opera could work.
And that's when I reached out
to Caterina Caselli.
Who was an independent label,
and who did an
extraordinary job on Andrea.
["Nessuno mi pu
giudicare" playing]
Good morning, how is it going?
[Bocelli speaking]
Caterina is an excellent talent
scout.
Having been a singer and artist,
I think she realized she could
create a new Andrea Bocelli.
[Caterina speaking]
I met him in '93
at Zucchero's concert.
I was very far from the stage.
I hear someone singing Miserere,
and I think, "This is not
Pavarotti."
Then he sang Nessun dorma,
and I thought, "I've found him!"
I saw him,
he was as handsome as Omar
Sharif.
I thought, "This is what
I've been looking for."
Because I'd always thought,
that the Italian bel canto
would work abroad.
So, I went back to my office,
without even a contract,
but I wanted to find a song for
Andrea which would have wide
vocal range.
Fifteen days later, we had a
song...
that we presented in Sanremo.
["Sanremo Festival
Theme Tune 1995" playing]
Good evening, welcome to
Sanremo!
[Caterina speaking]
Sanremo is a big festival.
The whole of Italy watches it.
The song's title is
Il mare calmo della sera.
Andrea Bocelli is at the piano.
Let's go for it. What will be,
will be.
Yes, you're anxious,
so, let's see what comes out.
[performing
"Il mare calmo della sera"]
[Caterina speaking]
We had the perfect song
for Sanremo
because it gave him
the chance to express
his two musical languages.
[Caterina continues]
Singing both the rock part
and the bel canto part.
Bel canto is the voice
which is ideal for opera.
Because it sounds smooth.
Like the sea,
it's liquid.
["Il mare calmo della sera"
continues]
The way he can switch
from a rasping voice,
such as mine...
And also sing the tenor's notes.
This is what really impressed me
about Andrea.
["Il mare calmo della sera"
continues]
Thank you!
[Caterina speaking]
It was the first time that an
unknown singer,
had such a success amongst
people who didn't know who he
was.
He was well over
30 years old.
[Zucchero speaking]
Sanremo makes sense only
if you go against the flow.
If you go to Sanremo
you have to stand out,
like I did, or Andrea did,
like Vasco did at the time.
Yeah, but there's one
difference.
I won and you came last.
Don't forget it.
[Zucchero speaking]
Andrea had "swing"
which most other opera singers
don't really have.
[playing piano]
[Zucchero speaking]
Probably due to his experience
playing in piano bars.
[presenter asks]
Enrica, how did you two meet?
I met him around five years ago
in a piano bar.
The first thing that struck me
was his voice.
Andrea, who made the first move?
-She did.
-I did.
Mr. and Mrs. Bocelli,
were you immediately supportive
of Enrica's and Andrea's union?
Andrea was quite grown up,
it was finally time for him to
settle.
[parents laugh]
So, it's good he's settled now.
[audience applauds]
Did you agree immediately,
madam?
-Listen...
-The truth, please.
Of course.
I think parents shouldn't
interfere in their kids' lives.
[Bocelli speaks]
But she interferes big time!
- Eh!
- [laughs]
[Caterina speaking]
Andrea's parents were very
surprised by his success.
I had reached a respectable age.
At that age, one must work.
You've got to do something.
You can't depend on your family.
I didn't like to, so, I thought,
"This is my last attempt."
[laughter]
[Caterina speaking]
His father berated him for being
too obsessed with opera.
"You must try other music!"
Finally, Andrea gave in.
He's always claimed,
"Opera is my heart.
"But pop music is my legs."
- [audience cheering]
- ["Con te partir" playing]
[Bocelli speaking] Caterina
understood that the audience
would appreciate my work.
Something most other record
producers saw as dated.
[performing "Con te partir"]
["Con te partir" continues]
[Caterina speaking]
When we presented him
with Con te partir,
Andrea wasn't too convinced.
[Zucchero speaking]
"I don't like the music
arrangement,
"it's too electronic."
I told him, "Look Andrea,
"it's extraordinary."
[performing "Con te partir"]
[Caterina speaking]
We sold 100,000 copies after the
release.
Not much was happening.
[Zucchero speaking]
After one year of not much
happening,
my friend, Paul Young,
called and said,
"Zucchero, do you know
Maske, the boxer?
"He's fighting in Germany
for the world title."
[ring announcer shouts]
[Zucchero continues]
They wanted me to sing a song
live.
[ring announcer]
This will be the final fight
- of his career.
- Ah!
"Damn, what a great opportunity,
but I can't make it."
But Andrea came to my mind.
[bell rings]
[Zucchero continues]
Maske checked out Con te partir
and he loved it.
But because he'd already
committed to Sarah Brightman,
it was translated into English
becoming, Time To Say Goodbye.
[Zucchero continues] Maske
lost the fight.
["Time To Say Goodbye" playing]
And he announced on live TV,
that it was time to say goodbye.
"I'm retiring."
Farewell.
["Time to Say Goodbye"
continues]
[Dickon Stainer in English]
I first heard Bocelli
around the time that he did
"Time to Say Goodbye"
with Sarah Brightman in Germany
at a boxing match.
Which was a very,
slightly bizarre combination
that the two of them would sing
after a boxing fight in a ring.
And there's something
about the...
fusion of the...
of the two voices together.
As soon as you heard him
singing the duet,
you want to hear him again.
It was a worldwide smash hit.
[Zucchero in Italian]
Even though Germans are
regarded as a bit cold-hearted,
they were all crying.
The next day,
people were queueing up
to buy the single
of Time to Say Goodbye.
And I got screwed over,
'cause I slid down to number 2.
[whirring]
The following day we sold
110,000 albums in one day.
We sold 3.7 million
copies of the single.
To this day, it is an unbeaten
record.
This song was top of charts in
France for six weeks,
- [audience applauding]
- [presenter speaking]
you won three gold records,
in Belgium, it's become
the greatest hit of all time,
it was number 1 for 12 weeks.
What is your relationship
with Con te partir?
It's conflictive.
It's become
a form of t*rture for me.
Because I hear it too often.
[Dickon] Artists move on
during their career
to do different things.
And obviously, he felt
at that point in his career
that he wanted something else.
A huge, completely
international audience.
[in Italian]
This success propelled us to the
US.
Con te partir is for Bocelli,
what New York, New York
was for Liza Minnelli.
- ["New York, New York" playing]
- [audience cheering]
[Bocelli narrating] My success
started at an age when for many
it comes to an end.
It unfolded like in a fairy
tale, almost unreal.
New York, New York
These vagabond...
[Bocelli narrating]
Overnight, that country boy,
who I used to be,
and who I still am, to be
honest,
became famous all over the
world.
But truly in a short period of
time.
[presenter] Andrea Bocelli
has sold more than
ten million albums
in the US and worldwide.
He has a phenomenal voice.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Andrea Bocelli.
[interviewer] ...Andrea,
the world's best-selling tenor.
In that short
period of time, Andrea,
you have sold so many records.
Are you surprised by that?
Yes, of course,
because it's really impossible
- to imagine this.
- [presenter] This Italian tenor
became
an international sensation.
...if I can make it there.
If I can wake up in a city
that doesn't sleep...
I want you to meet
a new friend of mine.
He's handsome,
he's romantic. Hey,
he's Italian.
- [audience claps, laughs]
- [chuckles]
That is true. [chuckles]
[host] What is the collaboration
like, Andrea,
when you work with a guy
like David Foster?
[Bocelli] Well,
it's very difficult.
- because, because...
- [laughs] Thanks.
- Because David...
- [host] We've known that
for years.
Because David has a big energy.
And we...
He made me work too much.
It's great. I think Andrea
is like one of the...
He is my favorite singer
of all time.
It is a great achievement that
he comes from another country,
he sings in another language.
And that, especially America,
I mean, the whole world
embraced him,
but America, just,
they couldn't get enough of him.
You know, it was like,
they just...
They devoured him.
["New York, New York" continues]
If I can make it there
I'm gonna make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York
New York
[audience applauds]
[in Italian]
Andrea, do you remember
the Central Park concert?
The entrance was
on the Columbus side,
there were nearly 100,000
people, queuing up to come see
your dad.
[Bocelli speaking]
I remember it very well.
It kept on raining...
But when I sang Ave Maria,
it stopped raining.
[Virginia] Ah!
Your Ave Maria or Schubert's?
[Bocelli answers]
Schubert's.
[singing softly]
[Bocelli and Virginia singing]
["Ave Maria" playing]
[Bocelli narrating]
In terms of global success,
I think the peak of my career
was the Central Park concert.
Manhattan was blocked
because of people coming to my
concert.
For me, a country boy,
it was like a fairy tale.
A dream, something suspended
between reality and fantasy.
[singing continues]
[Bocelli asks, chuckles]
How does it go?
Let me spare my voice.
Thank you.
[in English] So, Dad likes
to rest his voice
for, like, a long time
before, you know, the concert,
'cause he likes
to keep it very fresh
whenever he goes on stage.
[Veronica speaking in Italian]
Here we are at Madison!
Are you guys ready?
From the outside
it doesn't look so big.
[Virginia asks]
Which way should we go?
- [in English] This way
to the back room.
- [Virginia] Thank you.
[Bocelli narrating]
Everyone has performed
at Madison Square.
Frank Sinatra,
Maestro Pavarotti,
all the great opera
and pop performers.
Now the audience will have to
make do with me.
Is my coffee ready?
You know that I become nervous
if I don't have coffee.
[staff speaking]
First we warm up the cup.
Thank you.
[Bocelli narrating]
I suffered from stage fright,
for many years.
A kind of fear that can't be put
into words.
An unmanageable anxiety.
Vicious palpitations wouldn't
let go of me, even on stage.
It would last for the entire
concert, until the last
obstacle.
This would happen,
because my technique wasn't
perfect.
How cute are these tiny ears?
The turning point
was when I met Maestro
Pavarotti.
[performing
"Notte 'e piscatore"]
[Bocelli narrating]
When I first rehearsed
with this great artist,
I realized that he didn't
struggle at all,
whilst I struggled a lot.
That's when I figured
he had perfect technique.
I didn't.
Today, thanks to
the technical awareness,
which I have attained
through a lot of effort,
I'm stressing this,
"through a lot of effort."
I don't have that kind of
anxiety anymore.
[Bocelli narrating]
The technique of projecting your
voice
must be learned.
Or rather, re-learned.
Because newborns know the
technique.
They can scream all day
without losing their voice,
because they're doing it in the
right way.
They're screaming from their
diaphragm.
-Can I warm up my voice?
-Larisa.
[Bocelli in English] Look.
[singing "O mio babbino caro"]
[song ends]
- Great.
- [Larisa chuckling]
- Okay.
- Thank you, thank you.
- Okay, I'll leave you alone.
- Can I be your pianist?
- Is it okay?
- Please!
- Please!
- Okay.
[Bocelli narrating]
Once you've learned the
technique,
you need to train your muscles.
It's like going to the gym.
Instead of your arms and legs
lifting weights,
it's all about the cricothyroid
muscles
which govern
your vocal chords.
[performing "O soave fanciulla"]
[audience applauds]
[fan in English] Andrea
is an amazing opera singer.
He's, like, the all-time best.
His sound touches your soul.
You know what that does
to an individual?
It can change your life.
You know, you can be going
through depression.
You know what music does
with depression.
It changes that.
- Thank you guys so much.
- Without this...
Without this energy,
he won't be up there.
- God bless. Honestly,
I'm so happy.
- Thank you.
- We'll take it. Let me hug you.
- Oh, thank you so much.
[in Italian] Greet this guy,
he's one of your biggest fans.
- Pleased to meet you.
- Pleased to meet you, sir.
He can't talk, he's speechless.
[Virginia asks]
Mum, how many people were there
yesterday?
Yesterday...
12,000.
Daddy, you said 17,000!
They told me 17,000 yesterday.
Wait, wait!
I don't remember.
Where were we yesterday?
At Long Island.
Long Island!
Your dad is right.
Your daddy's right.
What difference does it make?
A lot!
What difference does it make,
if it's 2,000 or 17,000?
You need to make the same
effort.
- [Veronica in English]
Are you coming back today? Ah.
- [Bocelli in Italian]
What is it?
What is it, love?
There are so many people out
there.
I'm so nervous.
I'm anxious and cold.
[Bocelli speaking]
Virginia is young,
but she's always shown
good musical talent.
What will she do with it?
Who knows. Perhaps something
entirely different.
[in English] Tonight,
I will play for a very young,
bright girl.
Lovely singer...
because it's my daughter,
Virginia.
- [Veronica] Okay.
- [audience cheering]
Virginia, are you ready?
I hope so.
- You hope so?
- [audience laughs]
Are you tranquil?
- Not really.
- Not really?
I'll try my best.
Okay, thank you.
[Virginia singing]
Now, I've heard
there was a secret chord
That David played
and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care
for music, do ya?
Well, it goes like this,
the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall,
the major lift
The baffled king
composing "Hallelujah"
[both singing] Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
[Veronica speaking in Italian]
I think Virginia is a lot like
her father.
Especially when it comes to
determination,
and the drive to perform well.
She plays the piano because she
knows it'll make her daddy
happy.
Then, gradually, in her life
she will figure out what makes
her happy.
Her happiness
will be our happiness.
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
[audience applauding]
[in English]
I'm so excited, guys. I...
I didn't expect it
to go that well.
- Yes!
- Bye!
[performing "Di quella pira"]
[Bocelli narrating] All in all,
it isn't that fun to be a
singer.
It's rather monotonous.
At the beginning, being
backstage
in TV studios was really tough.
They felt like prisons to me.
[interview speaking] Success is
following you all over the
world, does it weigh on you?
[Bocelli speaking]
Success is definitely a burden.
[Bocelli speaking]
Whenever, backstage, I feel
wistful.
I get nostalgic about the times
when I happily played,
people chatted and smoked,
listening absent-mindedly to my
music.
It was pleasant.
It allowed me to perform freely,
without masks or pretenses.
[Bocelli speaking]
It was a year full of lengthy
travels.
I don't know how many hours
I spent on a plane
I'm sick of it.
["Di quella pira" continues]
[Bocelli speaking]
The higher you go,
the more the responsibility,
the less you feel like you're at
the top,
rather, you feel on the brink.
[song ends]
[Bocelli speaking]
I went through a difficult time.
I felt very anxious.
[Caterina speaking]
Andrea became really successful.
Quite a burden to bear.
You find yourself alone.
Loneliness is not a friend.
[indistinct]
[Veronica speaking]
When I met Andrea Bocelli,
he was already famous.
Andrea was separated
from his first wife, Enrica.
At the time, I could see this
man
was quite devastated
by the end of his marriage.
We started a new
chapter of life together.
From the start,
I was passionate about this job.
My enthusiasm fueled Andrea
as his own enthusiasm
had worn off by then.
He'd never enjoyed travelling,
particularly the way he was
travelling,
shipped from one place to
another,
like a package,
not knowing what was going on
around him.
[car horn honks]
[Veronica speaking]
It wasn't a particularly bright
time of his life.
[Caterina speaking]
When you're successful,
the people that approach you
aren't always good for you.
His first manager was Michele
Torpedine.
[interviewer in English]
Is Andrea easy to manage?
[Michele in Italian]
Andrea is not difficult to
manage,
but it's all the work that's
piled up on him.
Andrea is very amenable.
But...
luckily, there's a lot going on
for
Andrea,
both in terms of pop and opera
music.
Andrea is still quite easy.
He is very down-to-earth.
[interviewer speaking]
I'm coming into Andrea's living
room.
Here we meet some friends.
Ah, Michele Torpedine is here.
You've been part of the family
for quite a while, haven't you?
-I hope so.
-Of course you are.
[Bocelli speaking] If you're
truly passionate and those who
work with you also are,
then you end up close to them.
It's inevitable.
[somber music playing]
A very clever man for sure,
with an instinct for new
talents.
As his record shows.
But many things happened.
Shall we call them
"misunderstandings"?
Many misunderstandings.
I'm the one who realized
the cause of our
misunderstandings.
Simply, I noticed that every
time
I came into a meeting,
as soon as I walked in,
the conversation stopped.
That raised questions.
When I started pointing it out
to Andrea,
I said, "We should be checking
things more."
[Veronica exhales deeply]
[indistinct chatter]
At a certain point, it became
clear that we had to make a
clean break.
After that break-up,
we found ourselves truly alone.
Perhaps, through my eyes,
he could see things
that he had never seen before.
[Bocelli singing]
[Veronica speaking]
In 2005,
we started again from scratch.
I was very worried about it.
I lost a lot of hair that year.
I was very young at the time,
I hadn't even seen a contract
before.
But Andrea said,
"Don't worry, I've done my
math."
"I believe I can trust you."
[Bocelli asks] Where are you?
[Veronica speaking] Don't
venture too far from me.
Let me hold you for a while,
'cause this is how we live life.
A bit you,
and a bit me.
-You can't always be alone.
-Go away!
You really are a man.
[Bocelli speaking]
Yes, entirely.
-Turn right.
-Go!
No, I don't trust you.
No!
No.
These are the rules of
attraction.
-Indeed.
-Let go of me.
No.
[chuckles]
-I told you to let me go.
-No!
["Ali di Libert" playing]
[Veronica speaking] Regardless
of whether he could see, Andrea
has always been impressive.
When I had the chance to meet
other visually impaired people,
I realized he was Batman.
Or Superman.
[presenter speaking]
And here we see Alberto Tomba
and Andrea Bocelli.
[Bocelli narrating]
I've always been terrified by
boredom.
Every moment of boredom
is a lost moment from life.
[Alberto] Kamikaze,
Andrea! Kamikaze!
[Bocelli narrating]
Thus, I've always tried to be
curious about everything.
Even things
I didn't care about at first.
The more things you learn,
the better.
I even jumped with a parachute.
I jumped from 5,000 meters.
["Ali di Libert" playing]
[reporter in English]
There's no challenge
that appears too extreme
for Andrea Bocelli.
With his wife by his side,
nothing can stop
this amazing singer's ascent.
[reporters] Maestro! Maestro!
[Veronica speaking]
After 2005,
we re-structured ourselves.
There was stability.
["Quizs, quizs, quizs"
playing]
We started over,
and here we are.
[performing
"Quizs, quizs, quizs"]
[reporter] Andrea Bocelli
has the Guinness World Record
for holding number one,
two, and three spots
on the classical album charts,
all at the same time.
[Bocelli speaking]
Daddy's brought you something.
[Virginia babbling]
[Bocelli speaking]
So, Virgi...
what do we have here?
Bunnies.
- [Veronica gasps]
- [chuckles]
[Bocelli asks]
What's there?
Bunnies in there!
[Bocelli] Ah!
Go on, take a look, Virginia.
[babbles]
There's two!
[Bocelli speaking]
Yes, there are two.
[Virginia babbles]
[Veronica asks] Virginia, are
you happy?
[Virginia speaks] Yes.
Give a little kiss to daddy,
who gave you these.
Go fetch them.
[giggles]
[Bocelli and Veronica
conversing]
-Should mummy help you?
-No, she'll manage.
[Bocelli narrating]
Certainly, Veronica and my
family
have helped me overcome
the hardest times.
They've given me the drive
to seek new horizons.
[vocalizing]
- Okay, then.
- [man indistinct]
[humming]
My, my.
[singing "Perfect Symphony"]
- Awesome. I think that's...
that's good.
- Yeah.
[Bocelli in Italian]
I heard this song,
thanks to my sons,
Amos and Matteo.
It's exactly
what I wanted to do.
It's exactly
how I pictured it as well.
Really cool.
[Bocelli in Italian]
It's a big sign of approval for
me,
that a 26-year-old man,
less than half my age,
has responded to
my musical language.
This language is still reaching
other important international
artists of his generation.
[performing "Perfect Symphony"]
- [song ends]
- [audience cheers]
Wembley, will you make
some noise for Andrea Bocelli?
Thank you, Ed.
[Bocelli narrating]
I think that embracing
various musical genres
is like a child who's bilingual.
Most people find it odd,
or rather impressive.
[singing "If Only"]
[Bocelli narrating]
To me,
it's the most normal thing
in the world.
[playing piano]
[singing
"Au fond du temple saint"]
[Carlo speaking]
Throughout his career, he's been
labelled as a pop tenor.
[both sing]
[Carlo continues]
For him, it's been a crusade...
to rid himself of this pop tenor
label.
[Pavarotti speaking]
Bocelli started as a tenor
who sang pop music.
And now he is trying out opera.
If he can perform opera with
the same intensity as he does
pop,
it'll be a huge achievement.
Because opera is harder than
pop.
You sing without a mic.
However, he's got great skills
and great artistic and musical
sensibility.
I wish him all the best.
Good evening, Bocelli,
joining us from Cagliari,
where he's performing La Bohme.
Good evening, everyone.
A warm hug to Maestro Pavarotti.
Undoubtedly, if he hadn't
supported me,
I wouldn't be here performing
La Bohme.
For sure.
He moves me.
And...
switch camera,
because I am feeling emotional.
[chuckles]
[Bocelli narrating]
The first times I performed
opera roles,
I was so in love with that
musical genre,
I had so dreamt of singing
those roles as a boy,
of being a protagonist on an
opera stage,
that all my psychological
and physical energy
went into getting
into the role.
[Caterina speaking]
In Detroit, when he performed
Werther,
he had to walk
to the middle of the stage,
and pick up a glass
that was handed to him.
Under the carpet,
they placed a rope,
so, that he could feel the end
of the rope with his foot.
You have to sing, perform well,
sing in tune...
Without seeing, I mean...
It's extraordinary.
[performing "N'achevez pas!"]
[in English] The reception
from the public
was extremely warm,
but I knew that we would fall
under great criticism
from the cognoscenti
or the people
really in the opera world.
I knew they came
with their swords drawn.
I think that even there
probably
was some jealousy
and resentment
on the side
of the classical music,
you know, cognoscenti,
as it were,
because he achieved
a type of success worldwide
that I think...
all of us
who are in the business
have desired on some level.
[Dickon] High-end opera
is still the preserve
of a very small group of people.
But when the composers wrote
Bohme or La Traviata,
they didn't intend it
to be heard
by a minimal,
exclusive audience.
- Those tunes are for everybody.
- [audience applauds]
[Dickon] Bocelli
takes classical opera
and takes the spirit
to the general public.
[Bocelli narrating]
Opera has been a great challenge
for me,
which I won.
Perhaps, it helped
with my self-esteem.
It made me realize
Goethe was right,
When you believe,
everything you thought was
impossible,
comes within reach.
There's nothing impossible
in this world.
We decide in our minds
if something is possible or not.
I've always been tied to my
roots,
to my land.
So I've always been happy
to come back where it all
started.
[Veronica speaking]
One day, an architect visited
our home.
A visionary,
very quirky, covered in scarves.
He showed us photos
of a field with three rocks.
And said,
"You are Andrea Bocelli.
"The world should come to you,
you shouldn't be going to them."
The place where Andrea is
happiest
is Teatro del Silenzio
because he feels at home there.
And the world comes to listen to
him.
Amid the sheep and the fields.
-Good evening.
-Andrea Bocelli. I'm going to
perform.
[singing]
[woman] Bocelli! Whoo-hoo!
[singing continues]
[woman in Spanish]
I love you!
Greetings from Chile.
I've travelled a long way to see
you.
[interviewer in Italian]
You can't help coming back, it's
your home.
[Bocelli speaking]
We are all tied to the place
we were born and raised.
It's a concert I perform for my
homeland.
[interviewer speaking]
Your two souls, pop and opera
once again, together, combined.
Enrico Caruso gifted us with
some great songs
in addition to his opera work.
Beniamino Gigli did the same.
Mario Del Monaco, too.
So did Franco Corelli.
All of them.
And in my own way,
I try to carry on this
tradition.
["Libiamo ne'lieti calici"
playing]
[Alberto Bartalini speaking]
It's a butterfly. Lights will be
projected onto it.
So we've named the concert
"Reflections".
-"Reflections"?
-Yes.
What kind of title is that?
How can you link that to a
repertoire?
That...
That's my problem, I see.
I was thinking of a more
cheerful name.
Look, our intention is
to rely on laser technology,
a distinctive light show.
My opinion about lighting is
tenuous.
You see this kind of thing
in any show in America.
If you come all the way to
Tuscany,
the epitome of Italy, tradition,
elegance, refinement...
This is a little wannabe
rather than "Tuscany".
People come to see things here
that don't happen
anywhere else in the world.
["Libiamo ne'lieti calici"
playing]
[performing
"Libiamo ne'lieti calici"]
[indistinct chatter]
[indistinct chatter]
My love.
[Virginia speaking]
I need to get a dress.
My love, will you give me some
strength?
Am I going to make it?
[Virginia speaking]
Let's hope so!
Let's hope so?
[Bocelli clears throat]
Come on!
[indistinct chatter]
- [camera shutter clicking]
- [in English] Thank you.
["Libiamo ne'lieti calici"
continues]
Hi, Andrea.
-How are you?
-Very well.
-So?
-Shall we dramatize the scene?
All right.
-Sure.
-Let's go for it.
Did my wife tell you anything?
No, she didn't.
She said, "I'll tell her to feel
free."
[chuckles]
-All right.
-Always free.
[performing "Bimba dagli
occhi pieni di malia"]
[indistinct]
[Bocelli speaking]
Look, Veronica is here.
Here we are!
-I urge you to...
-Absolutely.
If we count on him,
we are ruined.
[Sara laughs]
He's so buttoned up.
What's on stage stays on stage.
You got my wife's consent.
Say no more, all clear.
-All right.
-I told him yesterday,
"Look she's shy,
she's stays far from you."
-"You tell her."
-"No, you tell her!"
It's not true.
-Can I introduce you to my
boyfriend?
-Of course.
Very nice to meet you.
My name is Andrea, too.
-You too?
-She won't get it wrong then!
Exactly.
- [Sara speaks]
- [boyfriend answers]
[Sara laughs]
-Very well.
-On stage and off stage.
[performing "Bimba dagli
occhi pieni di malia"]
[Veronica speaking]
People ask me,
"Aren't you jealous?"
No, I'm not. It would be silly.
If it's a nice person,
someone pleasant
whom you can sing about love
with and be inspired from,
all the better.
I am confident enough
not to be affected by it.
To this day.
- [vocalizing]
- [Veronica indistinct]
[Bocelli speaking]
Did you notice how beautiful
the trills and high notes were?
You are so stubborn in thinking
that your voice gets worse as
you get older...
-No, it's not true.
-It's true.
If you didn't have it,
in these performances,
it would be toned down.
It wouldn't turn out
as clean as it does.
I must reassure you once more.
Also...
Addio fiorito asil came out
great.
The high notes were awesome!
I had you up there for a while.
[conversation continues]
[vocalizing]
[clears throat]
Dad, you were brilliant!
Thank you, my love.
Was the voice all right?
Yes.
[Bocelli narrating]
To think that I've been doing
this job for 30 years
means that I'm more
than halfway through my life.
It doesn't really make me sad,
I was just joking.
[indistinct]
[clears throat]
[Bocelli narrating]
Today, thank God, I feel well.
I'm already regretting saying
it, out of superstition.
But I've said it.
[performing "Canto della terra"]
[Zucchero speaking]
I can't really explain why
I'm so attached to Andrea.
I've always loved him very much.
When we meet up,
we don't necessarily talk about
music,
we talk about life.
He seems unchanged to me.
He seems very down-to-earth.
["Canto della terra" continues]
[singing along]
[singing along]
[Caterina speaking]
Andrea is very close
to his childhood friends.
I think this is very important
for anyone who is successful.
Remembering who he used to be,
is the perfect antidote
to remain grounded.
[Adriano speaking]
We always knew he had a gift.
We also knew that it was
a difficult world.
That he would remain unknown
seemed...
impossible.
[Sergio and Adriano speaking]
But I honestly never would've
thought that he'd come this far.
We knew he'd win Sanremo!
[Alberto speaking]
"Go and get a Law degree."
My father would say.
"Dad, but I have to sing."
"Yes, of course.
You'll do that, we all know."
It's incredible, he's done it
all.
And he's done it well, no?
["Canto della terra" continues]
[Veronica speaking]
When you live with someone
who's in the spotlight,
who's got strong morals,
you feel the pressure too.
When I'd like to give
my opinion as Veronica Berti,
I have to remember that I'm not
speaking as Veronica Berti,
I am speaking as Veronica
Bocelli.
["Canto della terra" continues]
[Bocelli speaking]
In our world, a "just reward"
doesn't exist.
If you've got gifts,
you're born with them.
It's not that you "deserve"
them.
[crowd cheering]
[Bocelli speaking] If someone is
born with a beautiful voice,
or with the strength of a bull
that makes him a heavyweight
champion,
it's not that he deserves it.
But the opposite of "deserve"
exists.
When you're born with talents,
but have no desire to bring them
to fruition.
[horse hooves clip-clopping]
["Canto della terra" continues]
[song ends]
[audience applauding]
[Bocelli speaking]
In life, we are all called upon
to give the best of ourselves.
And one should treat others,
the way one would
like to be treated.
It's that simple.
Thank you.
Grazie.
Grazie.
[audience applauding]
["Because We Believe" playing]
[in English]
Thank you very much.
["Because We Believe" continues]
Once in every life,
there comes a time
We walk out all alone
And into the light
The moment won't last
But then,
we remember it again
When we close
Our eyes
Like stars
across the sky...
We were born
To shine
All of us here
Because we believe
Like stars across the sky
We were born
To shine
All of us here
Because we believe
Our light will never fail
Our heart
Forever stay
Like stars
Across the sky
We were born
To shine
All of us here
Because we believe
[song fades]
[birds chirping]
[horse hooves clip-clopping]
[Bocelli speaking]
[Emiliano speaking]
[Bocelli speaking]
[clip-clopping continues]
[clip-clopping fades]
[birds chirping]
[chirping fades]
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Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe (2025)
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