Andrea Bocelli: In His Own Words

In just over a week’s time on November 28th, the Houston Symphony will have the exciting opportunity to perform once more with one of the world’s most inspiring operatic legends: Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli was last in Houston in December of 2010, and is returning by popular demand. The Tuscany native, who suffered the loss of his vision at a young age, exploded onto the classical and popular music charts nearly 20 years ago with hits like his duet performance of “Time To Say Goodbye” with Sarah Brightman. Since then he has continued to inspire and excite audiences from both the classical and popular music realms, uniting people in the way only music can.

I had the chance to ask Mr. Bocelli a few questions in order to learn a bit more about him before our performance with him next week. His thoughtful and insightful answers are below:

Georgia McBride: Who were your mentors as you were developing as an artist?

Andrea Bocelli: The voices of Enrico Caruso, Mario Lanza, Beniamino Gigli, Mario Del Monaco, Aureliano Pertile, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Giuseppe Di Stefano have been the most precious companions of my childhood; through these great artists and through their recordings I have come to know and love opera.

But it was Franco Corelli who was the “coup de foudre” that marked my destiny. I have loved this great tenor since the very first time I listened to him. When I was still a child I received as a gift his recording of the “Improvviso” from the opera Andrea Chenier. He was a legendary singer, a charismatic presence, a fantastic voice. When I was a boy I literally consumed his records. Years later I was so lucky to study with him and later to establish a relationship of mutual esteem which on my side was of true devotion.

I also remember with great affection my first teacher, Luciano Bettarini who had already been the teacher of famous artists such as Fedora Barbieri, Mirto Picchi, Giuseppe Taddei, Ettore Bastianini and Ferruccio Tagliavini, thanks to Mr. Bettarini I have learnt first of all the discipline of singing. A discipline that I had never imagined could be so strict, like the one an athlete must follow to get good results. In the field of singing a teacher is like a doctor, if you find the right one you make great progress, if you find the wrong one, you run the risk to be ruined forever. I think there are two kinds of teachers: the one offering precise technical knowledge on vocalization and who helps in making the exercises useful for all kinds of sport disciplines (because the voice is always the result of the activity of a muscle) like the unforgettable Bettarini, and then there is the teacher who is also a kind of muse who will guide you on the path of emulation. Like the great Franco Corelli.

GM: You have been one of the greatest champions of classical music as you have crossed over into the pop realm. How do you handle that responsibility? What are the artistic rewards you reap from existing in both realms?

AB: There is classical music so beautiful to become popular and popular music so beautiful to become soon “a classic.” Opera singers have always tried to sing even popular pages… just think of Caruso, Gigli, Schipa. Perhaps my path has been different, as twenty years ago when I reached success, it was first as a song singer and then later as a lyrical singer. I think I have been very lucky to be born and grown up in Italy, the country where lyrical opera was born, where music has always been very important in everybody’s daily life. My greatest joy is to be able to bring around the world the music and the culture of my land, even more in the United States, in this marvelous country, where dreams may become true. I prefer opera, and being Italian I love singing, when I can, in my own language. But I do not reject pop, there are lots of songs that I like, every kind of music has its own depths.

I have followed, by now for two decades, the lyrical repertoire as well as the pop one. I do it with much honesty and quality. Sometimes, in environments usually dedicated to the so said “light repertoire” I try to propose also lyrical pages, to share with an audience as large as possible my favorite pieces. I often happen to propose a classical program where in the first part there is a strictly lyrical performance, but where in the second part I love including some pieces which are not pop music but great romanzas by now consigned to history (like “Non ti scordar di me” or “Mamma”), masterpieces from operetta (like the duet “Tace il labbro” from Die lustige Witwe) or traditional sacred pages tied to the Christian festivals (like “Adeste fideles”). In the same way I try to keep apart the two types of music: classical and pop; they are two languages which must be spoken with the purity that distinguishes them.

GM: What is your favorite opera?

AB: My voice is quite flexible and thankfully this allows me to have quite a wide repertoire even if I am not any more twenty! Every time I face an opera I get so involved that it turns out to be the favorite and to a certain extent even the easiest to perform. If I had to express a preference I would choose big titles like Puccini’s, from Manon Lescaut to Turandot, and La Bohème. Not to mention, however, the great French lyrical repertoire which offers pages of a breathtaking beauty. This year I made my debut and recorded the Romeo et Juliette by Charles Gounod under the direction of Fabio Luisi: a masterpiece both for the play by Shakespeare in itself, as well as for the way the French composer was able to put in music the well-known story, thus highlighting a universal message that I cherish, which is that hatred always leads only to evil, and that on the contrary love is the only path we should walk upon.

GM: Since many of the people attending your upcoming concert may be less familiar with traditional opera, what is one opera you would recommend that they listen to?

AB: Opera is the paradise of music. It is the result of a smart idea conceived four centuries ago in Tuscany (the land where I was born), a representation where many forms of art are assembled. Melodrama offers a complex experience which has been developed through centuries and which requires self-sacrifice from those who perform it. It is however worth it because it offers such deep sensations so as to remain impressed in one’s heart for a lifetime. I think it is impossible not to be conquered by it. That is why I never get tired of singing and listening to it.

When somebody listens for the first time to pages full of passion, taken for example from La Bohème, from Madame Butterfly, from La Traviata, Tosca they will discover that opera is neither a difficult art to enjoy, nor an elitist one. Primary emotions come into play, the word flourishes through music acquiring such richness in subtexts, to get straight to the heart of the spectator. I always hope that after the first fascination, the neophyte even more if young, may feel the desire to investigate, thus discovering that every drama has an extraordinary series of relationships (with literature, the visual arts, history, society) and it is the key to understand better oneself and the strength of feelings and relationships.

I also advise to live, if possible, the experience of opera, alive, inside that magic box which is the theater, the place where the alchemy of an obvious form of fiction takes place and is interpreted against a scenery made of papier mâché, but nevertheless capable of conveying extraordinary emotions and an invaluable journey in the world of art and imagination.

GM: What made you want to return to Houston to perform again?

AB: I remember with great pleasure the concert I gave in December 2010: the audience of Houston is generous, involved and passionate. They know how to have fun to express their joy and excitement. On that occasion then, Christmas which was approaching was warming the heart of all of us, and we all felt a positive energy and warmth really unforgettable.

And here in Texas I have had, once again a demonstration of strong affection by the American public which I am returning with much gratitude. When I sing in your country I always feel that there is an empathy that has no equal. This is, perhaps, why I feel at home every time I am in United States. And when I come back to sing here, it is like singing in front of an audience of friends. So not to come here to Houston with at least one day of celebration and music together, during my American tour, would seem to me like betraying the expectations of this town and of many.

GM: You have performed with so many orchestras around the world… What makes the Houston Symphony special?

AB: It is an important orchestra, a staff with a prestigious past (thanks also to extraordinary people like Sir John Barberolli, and Sir André Previn) and a present situation adequate to the expectations that its reputations require. I have a great memory of the “sound personality” of the Houston Symphony, so bright and responsive. That is why I am very pleased to return and to share the joy of making music together. -Andrea Bocelli

Learn more about Andrea Bocelli.

Andrea Bocelli Performs Ave Maria: