BIOGRAPHY

Birth Date :  September 22nd 1958  ~ a Virgo!

Birth Time :   5 :10 am

Birth Weight :  3 kilos 600 grams  (approx. 7 1/2 lbs.)

Birth Place :  Lajatico, Province of  Pisa, Italy

Parents :  Alessandro and Edi

Siblings :  Alberto (1961)

Married :  Enrica  (June 1992)

Children :  Amos ( 22/2/95 ) and Matteo (9/10/97)

Height :  6' 3"

Andrea grew up in Lajatico, a beautiful rural farming community, in the province of Pisa. Andrea's family has a small family farm , which has a small vineyard where they produce a small amount wine ~ 'Chianti Bocelli'.

It was evident at birth that Andrea had some difficulty with his sight and after many visits to doctors, Andrea was diagnosed as having Glaucoma. In 1972, at the age of 12, an  unfortunate accident , during a soccer game , rendered Andrea completely without sight.

As a young boy, Andrea showed a great passion for music. His mother, Edi, has said that music was the only thing that would comfort Andrea. At the age of 6, Andrea began taking formal piano lessons. As he grew older, he also learned to play the flute and the saxophone. At the age of 12, Andrea won his first musical competition , singing the song 'O Sole Mio' at the 'Margherita d'Oro' in Viareggio.

In 1980, at the age of  21, Andrea began studying Law at the University of Pisa. After graduating as a Doctor of Law, Andrea worked as a court appointed defense attorney for a short time ~ but it wasn't too long before the call of music took over.

Andrea began performing in piano bars to supplement his income while he was at the University. It was here, in 1987, that he met his future wife, the beautiful Enrica.

At this point, Andrea made a huge discussion, which would change the course of his life completely! He gave up the life of a Lawyer to dedicate himself completely to music. He began this change by taking singing lessons from Bettarini.

In 1992, the rock star Zucchero held auditions for a tenor. He needed someone to sing on a demo-cut for his new song 'Miserere', a duet ,which he co-wrote with Bono. Zucchero hoped to persuade Luciano Pavarotti to sing on the final cut of the song. Andrea was chosen to cut the demo, and upon hearing Andrea sing, Pavarotti announced that Zucchero really didn't need him to sing the duet, as no one could do a finer job than Andrea. However, Pavarotti relented and finally recorded the song with Zucchero, which went on to be a huge hit!  When Zucchero began his next tour, Andrea went along on the road trip so that he could perform in place of Pavarotti, on the 'Miserere'duet. Andrea was so well received that he soon earned himself a solo spot. Thanks to Zucchero, Andrea met his manager Michele Torpedine and at Zucchero's birthday party he met the president of Sugar music , who promptly offered Andrea a contract.

In 1992, Andrea was fortunate enough to attend the Master-Class of the great tenor
Franco Corelli, in Turin.

In 1993, at the urging of friends and family, Andrea entered the 'San Remo Festival', where he performed 'Miserere'...singing both parts! He won the preliminary round. In 1994, Andrea returned to San Remo where he performed ' Il Mare Calmo Della Sera' in the main competition...this time he won, with the highest recorded score!!

Andrea's debut album,  'Il Mare Calmo Della Sera' , was released and soon made it's way to the Top Ten chart in Italy. The album reached platinum status within a matter of weeks!

Since then, Andrea has performed in numerous concerts, including the 'Luciano Pavarotti and Friends' concert benefit. He has performed in the opera's 'MacBeth', 'The Merry Widow', 'La Boheme' and Massenet's 'Werther'. Andrea is featured on the 'Quest for Camelot' soundtrack, and sang 'The Prayer' with Celine Dion, which won a 'Golden Globe Award' and was nominated for an 'Academy Award'. His video cassette 'A Night in Tuscany' is a best seller and has been followed by his 'Sacred Arias' special , a collaboration with Steven Mercurio and Myung-Whun Chung.His success continues to grow...

...and the rest, as they say, is history!!!