KEY POINTS:
When Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli comes to Auckland this month for his August 20 concert at the Vector Arena, he is looking forward to the visit being a family affair.
"The first time I came to New Zealand it was very fleeting for one concert in Christchurch," he says with the help of an interpreter. "This time I'm looking forward to staying longer and I will be bringing my boys."
Bocelli explains that Amos, 13 and Matteo, 11 are "typical" European boys who love soccer and have little interest in New Zealand's national game. Although he thinks the opportunity to see an All Blacks game would be fun, he says his sons are more excited about the chance to go surfing.
Bocelli has sold an estimated 60 million albums worldwide and has a world record with his album Sacred Arias winning him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first person to simultaneously hold the number one, two and three positions in the US charts.
His most recent album Vivere: The Best of Bocelli went platinum in New Zealand. Bocelli's next album will be released in the US in autumn. Prior to the interview, it was made very clear that questions about Bocelli's blindness were a no-go area, which is fair enough. What was not made clear was there was another no-go area - questions about his success in the cross-over "popera" genre being met with a firm Kiri Te Kanawa-style conversation stopper.
"Crossover is not a term that I recognise. When I sing in a genre, I sing in the language relevant to that genre. So when I sing pop I'm true to that language and when I sing opera I am true to the language of that music."
Bocelli is perhaps best known for his rendition of Time to Say Goodbye (Con te Partiro), an Italian popera duet which he recorded with British soprano Sarah Brightman. While some singers grow weary of the songs that made their career, Bocelli has no such issues with his signature tune. "It is a beautiful melody that makes many audiences very happy and so it makes me happy. How could you ever tire of that?"
And it is his audiences around the world that keep him going. "My inspiration and my rewards come from the affection of my audience. That is the only reward with any value. Any price or award or statuette is a mere token of that affection. It is nothing without the recognition of the fans."
Bocelli is promising to give the Auckland concert his very best in a night of real Italian opera.
- Andrea Bocelli performs at Auckland's Vector Arena on August 20.
