KEY POINTS:
With its panoramic ocean views and art deco architecture, Tuscan seaside resort Forte dei Marmi is opera star Andrea Bocelli's home.
Half an hour's drive from Pisa, torrential rain greets me upon my arrival on a less than balmy spring afternoon.
But, despite the weather, it's easy to see why the 49-year-old tenor - born nearby in the village of Lajatico - doesn't like being away too long from the lavish waterfront mansion he shares with his girlfriend, Veronica Berti.
"Tuscany has been a big influence on my life so, in that sense, it has helped me to grow peacefully," Bocelli says. "Normally this is a sunny place with lots of fields and lots of green. It's a really nice place to live and this helps considerably when you are growing up."
Bocelli will soon be journeying a long way from his beloved Italy when he embarks upon an Australasian tour in August that will include his first visit to New Zealand since he performed in Christchurch in 2002.
"I am very much looking forward to it because, this time, I hope to bring my children with me," says Bocelli, whose former wife and two sons live next door. "I remember everything about New Zealand. It was a beautiful experience. The atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful."
Accompanying Bocelli in New Zealand will be the Czech National Orchestra along with soprano Paola Sanguinetti and baritone Gianfranco Montresor. "The tour will have a repertoire consisting of some arias, some duets and some Neapolitan songs," he says. "And at the end of the concert, there will be some of the more popular songs that I have done."
Although he prefers playing in more intimate surroundings, Bocelli has no qualms about appearing at Auckland's cavernous Vector Arena.
"There is no doubt that the best place to sing is in a theatre, especially if the singing or the symphony is performed in the orthodox way, that is without any technology. When you play in an arena - whether it's an indoor or outdoor space - something different happens. It is a different experience altogether because you have this feeling of unity. That kind of venue is also ideal for those people who are normally a little reluctant to go see a classical concert so it is a good way to pull in a different crowd."
That is perhaps the price that Bocelli, who has sold more 60 million albums since he released his debut album Il Mare Calmo Della Sera in 1992, has had to pay for his considerable success. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's caustic comments about Hayley Westenra and other such popera singers, whom she branded as "the new fakes for the new generation" because they sing with a microphone, made waves around the world with Bocelli recently admitting to the Radio Times that he has sold his talent short.
"I regret [circumstances forcing me] to do things that were profitable, but occupied a lot of time I could have dedicated to more artistically satisfying work," he told the magazine.
However, Bocelli has flirted with the mainstream music industry right from the beginning of his career. His first break came about in 1992 when he recorded a demo tape of Miserere, a song by Italian rock star Zucchero. Luciano Pavarotti eventually sang on the final recorded version but Bocelli was invited to stand in for him on Zucchero's subsequent European tour.
"That was always an accident," says Bocelli. "It was something that just happened, it wasn't planned."
Since then, Bocelli has dueted with Celine Dion and Sarah Brightman and, in 2005, he released the album Amore, which featured collaborations with Christine Aguilera, Kenny G and Stevie Wonder.
"Amore is obviously a pop album," says Bocelli. "I strongly believe in the purism of the musical form. If you are making a pop album, you must stick to the pop idea and if you are singing opera you have to be just as rigorous."
Bocelli resists being described as a crossover artist. "I am strongly against crossover, which I view mainly as a contamination," he says. "It's definitely something I do not want [to do]."
However, he concedes that his foray into popular music has introduced classical music to a whole new audience. "In this sense, it is probably true. When you fall in love with a master's voice, you automatically try and find out as much as possible about this libretto. Perhaps I have drawn a lot of people to my concerts who have come to see me and, as a result of that, they decide to explore the world of opera further, which is something that makes me very proud."
PERFORMANCE
Who: Andrea Bocelli, with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra
Where and when: Vector Arena, Aug 20; tickets on sale www.ticketmaster.co.nz from Monday
