Incanto

Andrea Bocelli was born in Lajatico, in rural Tuscany, not far from the ancient city of Pisa. Fascinated by the passion and storytelling of opera and traditional Italian music, Andrea dreamed of following in the footsteps of his idols; celebrated Italian tenors including Mario Del Monaco, Beniamino Gigli and especially Franco Corelli. While a child, Andrea's beautiful, natural voice had made him something of a local celebrity. However his musical dreams were to be interrupted by the realities of adult life. To placate his family and their concerns for his future, he graduated from the University of Pisa in law, practicing as a state-appointed defence attorney for a short time. But his passion for music remained, and Andrea was soon studying under a number of maestros, most notably achieving a personal triumph and a source of encouragement when accepted as a pupil for master classes by his hero, tenor Franco Corelli.

In 1992, Italian rock star Zucchero enlisted then-unknown Andrea to record a 'demo track' of "Miserere," a duet to be recorded with Luciano Pavarotti. Andrea effortlessly captured the very essence of the song. As Zucchero later said, "He just had this 'soul'."

Andrea's voice was soon attracting attention outside Italy. His international breakthrough hit was the beguiling "Con Te Partiro" and in it's duet arrangement with Sarah Brightman, "Time to Say Goodbye (Con Te Partiro)." The solo version was a worldwide smash, topping the French singles chart, while the duet held the top spot on Germany's single chart for fourteen weeks, and, at three million copies, went on to become Germany's best selling single of all time. "I have wonderful memories singing with Andrea," says Sarah Brightman today. ""Time to Say Goodbye" will always hold a special place in my heart."