Backstage with Ron Onesti: Andrea Bocelli…Out From the Darkness He Has Provided The Light
It’s been thirty-one years since Andrea Bocelli won the newcomers’ section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing “Il Mare Calmo Della Sera”. Almost 100 million albums and countless awards and recognitions later, he remains arguably the greatest living tenor in the world. And I have been blessed to have several instances of being in his presence!
Andrea was born in a small Tuscan town in 1958 where his family had a farm and made wine. He was diagnosed with Congenital Glaucoma, making him visually impaired since birth. His mother’s doctor advised her to abort the baby with the impending disabilities, but she wholeheartedly was against the idea, making him a staunch anti-abortion activist later in life.
He learned to play the piano and flute at the age of six. He did have partial vision and had a relatively “normal” childhood, even playing soccer regularly with his friends. He was a tall boy which made him a regular in the goalkeeper position. At the age of twelve he was hit with a ball in the eye causing him to completely lose his eyesight.
Andrea appeared at the annual Sanremo Music Festival in 1995 and performed “Con Te Partiro” in Italian. The English version, “Time To Say Goodbye” released the following year, was a duet with another classical superstar, British soprano Sarah Brightman. The song became one of the best-selling singles of all time.
After Andrea recorded three albums beginning in 1994, one more popular than the other, Bocelli released his first compilation album, “Romanza” in 1997. Although it was a compilation, it was considered his break-out album. It achieved triple-platinum status in the U.S. and became an international smash.
The following year, another duet, this time with Canadian icon Celine Dion, catapulted Andrea to another galaxy of musical popularity. “The Prayer” took the world by storm and was everywhere on the radio. Andrea became a “Pop” superstar!
As Andrea has continually engrained himself with the various ethnic communities around the United States, his quiet and reserved personality has blossomed into a more accessible, communicative one. He has rerecorded so many of his albums in different languages further underscoring his global footprint. Specifically, his presence in the Italian American communities around the U.S. has provided opportunities to experience not only he, but also his wife Veronica, his daughter Virginia and his son Matteo.
Veronica is instrumental in Andrea’s career, providing guidance and support to him daily. Their daughter Virginia is a budding young vocalist who appeared as a singer in the recent biopic, “Cabrini”.
When his son Matteo, an incredible vocalist in his own right, decided to go on his first solo tour of the United States, the opportunity to present him came across my desk.
“Are you kidding?” I asked the agent for the tour. “Absolutely I will bring him to my theatre in St. Charles!” Relationships matter in this biz!
Matteo put on a spectacular show that night. He brought a bit more “Pop” to the stage, but the resounding essence of his father’s presence was greatly felt by all.
I invited a young lady with whom I am very impressed with, Daniela Crocco, to have dinner with Matteo and I the night before his show. The goal was to introduce the two for the longshot of an opportunity for Daniela to join Matteo on stage for a duet. She has the voice of an angel, and I truly could see them performing together.
Nothing was said officially, it was more within a conversation about other topics professionally relevant. But as we were leaving, Matteo casually asked Daniela, “Do you know ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’? Learn my father’s version and come to my sound check tomorrow.”
At the sound check, she sat patiently and quietly in the audience. It was a couple of hours before the show, and nothing had yet been said to her whether she was to sing or not. As the sound check was close to coming to an end, Matteo blurted in Italian, “get her a microphone.”
“Is this really happening?” she asked herself.
A few minutes later she was running through the number with him on stage. The time came during his show for them to perform together. She killed it! It was a magical moment of musical romance not only for Daniela, but also for every person in the audience that night!
Another win for the Bocelli family!
At an Andrea Bocelli concert, I prefer to experience it in a fashion in which he experiences life. In some instance throughout the show, I do it in the darkness of my closed eyes, albeit a darkness with light, where the music permeates the soul. His darkness has provided great vision, a musical experience that flows from his veins, out of his mouth, and into our hearts,
Decades later in his career, as the relationship for between Pavarotti and Bocelli blossomed, the grand master’s respect for the next generation icon became more evident. In 2003, Luciano asked Andrea to perform at his wedding to his second wife Nicoletta. Four years later, Mrs. Pavarotti asked Andrea to perform at Luciano’s funeral, a full-circle of respect.
At 67 years of age, Andrea shows no signs of slowing down. Contrarily, he is doing more now than ever! His recent duets with contemporary superstars including Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa are exposing his greatness to new generations. Andrea Bocelli is truly the voice of THIS millennium!
