Andrea Bocelli Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

ANDREA BOCELLI HONORED WITH 2402nd STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME
Star includes 50th Walk of Fame Anniversary seal placed below his star.
Ceremony Coincided With *The 5th annual Los Angeles -- Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest
7000 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Tuscan, like Puccini and Mascagni, Andrea Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958 and grew up at the family farm in Lajatico, nestling between the vines of the Pisan countryside. His parents must receive the credit for having encouraged young Andrea's musical talent, allowing him to start studying the piano from the age of only six years old. Later his musical passion would extend to the flute and the saxophone but it was in his voice that Andrea discovered the ideal instrument and this was the beginning of the formative process which would produce Bocelli, the star, "a modern but old fashioned tenor" (as he likes to describe himself). In 1994 Andrea had the opportunity to make his debut on the operatic stage in Verdi's Macbeth (in the role of Macduff): Andrea Bocelli had found the stage. In fact the stage had found Andrea Bocelli and would never leave him.
There is something miraculous about the parallel track along which the tenor Andrea Bocelli's career developed. In 1996 the melody of the song "Con te Partiro`" (and later its arrangement as a duet with Sarah Brightman with the title "Time to say Goodbye") was heard in every corner of the world. In Germany, the duet became the best selling single of all time.
At the same time Andrea embarked on his operatic adventure performing parts of Madame Butterfly and Tosca, and also the "Aria of 9 C" from La fille du regiment, which received a standing ovation in Torre del Lago during the summer of 1997.
In 1998 came a new debut, this time playing Rodolfo in Puccini's La Bohème in Cagliari, prompting praise from legendary tenor Franco Corelli, who commented: "Andrea is an operatic tenor with a voice of rare beauty. His sense of romance and melody goes beyond the very essence of Rodolfo the bohemian". 1999 was a very intense year and saw his debut in the United States in Massenet's Werther. At the same time his album Sogno including Andrea's duet with Céline Dion of "The Prayer", which had already won the Golden Globe Award and was subsequently nominated for an Oscar, was released. From this point on the Bocelli legend, supported by huge record sales, was unstoppable. His concerts would find the most celebrated directors on the podium such as Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Valeri Gergev, Zubin Mehta and Myun Whun Chung.
His first "classical" recording dates back to 1997 and was entitled Viaggio Italiano. 1998 saw the release of Aria -- The Opera Album, while the dawn of the new millennium, was marked by the release of a cd dedicated to Sacred Arias with the Orchestra and Choir of the National Academy of Saint Cecilia conducted by Myung-Whun Chung : an homage to Christianity which remains one of his most shining artistic productions, becoming the best selling classical album ever released by a solo artist. Bocelli earned a place in the Guiness Book of World Records by occupying the first, second and third place in the American classical music charts.

The year 2000 marked a new milestone in Andrea Bocelli's recording career: Puccini's La Bohème, with Zubin Mehta conducting and Barbara Frittoli in the role of Mimì. Still under the baton of Zubin Mehta, the start of the millennium also celebrated the release of the Verdi album and in the autumn of 2002 Andrea Bocelli combined his energies with those of Lorin Maazel for Sentimento, a collection of romantic pieces by composers such as Tosti, Denza and Gastaldon. The project was an enormous success earning Andrea a double nomination at the 2003 "Classical Brit Awards", where he won both "Album of the Year" and "Best Selling Classical Album of the Year". In May 2003 Andrea sang the role of Mario on Giacomo Puccini's Tosca, directed by Zubin Mehta.
His last album My Christmas, produced by David Foster, shot to success in no time entering the Billboard Top 200 Charts at number 3 and climbing to #2 on week 2, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. Achieving sales of more than 4 million, this makes it the 5th top selling album in the world in 2009. And these can be added to the 65 million records already sold to date.
Written by: Giorgio De Martino
Translation by: Consuelo Hackney

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© 2010 Michael Germana/ Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
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