1992–1994: Sanremo and Il mare calmo della sera In 1992, Italian rock star
Zucchero held auditions for tenors to make a
demo tape of his song "Miserere", to send to Italian tenor
Luciano Pavarotti. After hearing Bocelli on tape, Pavarotti urged Zucchero to use Bocelli instead of him. Pavarotti eventually persuaded Zucchero to record the song with Bocelli, and it became a hit throughout Europe. In Zucchero's European concert tour in 1993, Bocelli accompanied him to sing the duet, and he was also given solo sets in the concerts, singing "
Nessun dorma" from
Giacomo Puccini's opera
Turandot. Bocelli signed with the
Sugar Music label in
Milan after
Caterina Caselli heard him sing "Miserere" and "Nessun Dorma" at a birthday party for Zucchero. In December, Bocelli entered the preliminary round of the
Sanremo Music Festival in the category of Giovani, performing "Miserere". He won the preliminary competition with the highest marks ever recorded in the newcomers' section. On 28 December, he debuted in the classical world in a concert at the
Teatro Romolo Valli in
Reggio Emilia. Bocelli had been an agnostic, but around 1994, partly as a result of immersing himself in the works of Russian author
Leo Tolstoy, he returned to the practice of the
Catholic faith. He performed the hymn "
Adeste Fideles" in Rome before
Pope John Paul II in
St. Peter's Basilica at Christmas. The song was included on his second album,
Bocelli, produced by
Mauro Malavasi and released in November 1995. In Belgium, "Con te partirò" became the best-selling single of all time. His third album,
Viaggio Italiano, was released in Italy in 1996. The single debuted atop the German charts, where it stayed for fourteen weeks. With sales nearing three million copies, and a sextuple platinum award, "Time to Say Goodbye" eclipsed the previous best-selling single by more than one million copies. Back in Italy in Bologna on 27 September, he sang at the
International Eucharistic Congress. On 19 October, he sang at the
TeleFood benefit concert held in the
Vatican City to raise awareness about world hunger. On 25 October, he received a
Bambi Award in the Klassik category in Cologne, Germany. His fifth album
Aria: The Opera Album was released in March. On 19 April, Bocelli made his United States debut with a concert at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., followed the next day by a reception at the
White House with then US President
Bill Clinton. He was also named one of
People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People of 1998. At the
41st Grammy Awards ceremony on 24 February, Bocelli was nominated for
Best New Artist, which was won by
Lauryn Hill. In January 2001, Bocelli portrayed the main character in
Mascagni's opera ''
L'amico Fritz'' at the Teatro Filarmonico in
Verona and again performed the tenor part in Verdi's
Requiem. On 19 March, the
Requiem album was released with Bocelli as tenor. From 22 March to 6 April, he toured North America accompanied by
Cecilia Gasdia and the
Hartford Symphony Orchestra. On 17 June, he performed at the re-opening of the
Leaning Tower of Pisa. In July, he performed two concerts in
Dublin with
Ana María Martínez and the New Symphony Orchestra. At the
Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 4 October, he presented his new album
Cieli di Toscana and was recognised for having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In October, he opened the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of
Sicilian opera composer
Vincenzo Bellini in
Catania. On 28 October, he sang Franz Schubert's
Ellens dritter Gesang (also known as "Ave Maria", Latin for "Hail Mary") as a representative of the Catholic faith, during a memorial concert at
Ground Zero in New York City for the victims of the
September 11 attacks there. In November, he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million sales of the album
Cieli di Toscana, and at the
Italian Music Awards he was given a special award from the
Federation of the Italian Music Industry for his merits as an "Ambassador of Italian music in the world". He performed seven more concerts in the US accompanied by
Ana María Martínez, and on 23 December, he sang the
Italian national anthem as well as works of Bellini and Verdi at the traditional Christmas concert in the
Italian Senate, which was broadcast live on television for the first time.
2002–2005: Sentimento and Andrea and
Tony Renis in 2002 In
Berlin, on 5 February, he received a
Goldene Kamera award in the "Music & Entertainment" category. On 6 March, he received two World Music Awards in Monte Carlo: "World best selling classical artist" and "Best selling Italian artist". On 11 March, he gave a concert for peace at the
Basilica di San Marco a Venezia in Venice, accompanied by the orchestra of the
Teatro La Fenice and conducted by
Lorin Maazel. On 15 March, he took part in the opening of
Walt Disney Studios Park in
Marne-la-Vallée France. On 7 May, Bocelli and Tony Renis received a
Telegatto Italian Television award for the soundtrack of the series
Cuore. On 23 May he received the
2002 Classical BRIT Award for "Outstanding Contribution to Music". On 27 May, he performed at the
Villa Madama in Rome in front of US president
George W. Bush and Italian president
Silvio Berlusconi. On 28 May, he took part in "Pavarotti & Friends" charity concert in
Modena in aid of
Angola. In June, he again toured the US, then on 26 July and 3 August, he portrayed
Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton in
Madama Butterfly at the 48th Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. On 14 October, he and Lorin Maazel presented his new album
Sentimento to a worldwide audience. Further presentations took place in Milan and New York, and the album was released on 4 November, selling over two million copies in 40 days. On 24 October, he started his
Sentimento tour in
Zürich; the tour took in large arenas in several European and North American cities. In February 2003, Bocelli performed
Madama Butterfly in an exclusive Monte Carlo concert, which was attended by
Caroline, Princess of Hanover. In March for the first time he appeared as a producer, at the Sanremo Festival, where the young artists Allunati and Jacqueline Ferry sang for his new record label, Clacksong. In May, his second complete opera,
Tosca, was released. It did not attract unanimous praise, though.
Andreas Dorschel notices "monochrome timbre" and "little dynamic variability" in Bocelli's performance: "Whatever is suffered by Cavaradossi − torture for instance or the prospect of execution −: Bocelli does not seem to register it, but goes on in the musical equivalent of Stoic indifference." At a private benefit gala for the
Royal National Institute of Blind People, Bocelli sang in front of the
British royal family. On 24 May, he performed in a benefit concert for the
Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art in the
Piazza del Campo in
Siena, with sopranos
Maria Luigia Borsi and Lucia Dessanti,
baritone Soo Kyung Ahn, and violinist Ruth Rogers, accompanied by Marcello Rota and the Orchestra Città di Pisa. Three days later, he was again invited to perform at "Pavarotti & Friends" in Modena and sang a medley of
Neapolitan songs together with Pavarotti. In June, he continued his
Sentimento tour in
Athens and
Cyprus. In September, he took part in a concert for the Justice ministers and Interior ministers of the European Union at the
Parco della Musica in Rome. He then resumed his tour, accompanied by
Maria Luigia Borsi, Ruth Rogers and Marcello Rota. In November, he once again toured in the United States, this time accompanied by Ana Maria Martinez,
Kallen Esperian and
Steven Mercurio. In December, he gave his first concert in China and at the end of the month, sang Gounod's
Ave Maria at Pavarotti's wedding in Modena. During early 2005, Bocelli was on tour including performances in
Madeira, Hungary, Norway, the US, the UK, Italy and Germany. He also appeared in
Sesame Street singing "Time to Say Goodnight", a parody of "Time to Say Goodbye", as a lullaby to
Elmo. On 21 March, he performed at the
Music for Asia benefit concert in Rome, televised on
Italia 1, in aid of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake appeal. In June, he performed at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. On 2 July, he performed at the Paris concert as part of the
Live 8 event. Also during the second part of the year, he performed in Croatia,
Serbia, Italy, the US,
Dubai, Switzerland and finally in Scandinavia. On 26 February, Bocelli sang "Because We Believe" from his
Amore album in the Carnevale section of the
closing ceremony of the Torino Olympics. He also began another tour with a concert at the Piazza di Castello in Turin. In March, he was honoured by the Italian state with a
Grande Ufficiale Italian Order of Merit (Grand Officer of the Italian Republic), given to him by then President of the Italian Republic,
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. The award was presented to him at the Sanremo Festival, where he performed a duet with American singer
Christina Aguilera on 4 March. From 31 March to 2 April, he took part in the Maggio Musicale in Florence, where he sang the
Canto di pace (Canto of peace) by
Marco Tutino and the tenor part from
Gioachino Rossini's
Messa di Gloria, and in Naples where he took part in Rossini's
Petite messe solennelle. American Idol runner-up
Katharine McPhee performed at three of Bocelli's concerts in California from 9 to 11 June, singing duets of
Somos Novios and
The Prayer with Bocelli. They also performed on ''
J. C. Penney Jam: The Concert for America's Kids
and recorded duet versions of Somos Novios
for the resulting album, and also Can't Help Falling in Love'' on the CD of the
Under the Desert Sky DVD. In June, he sang the Italian duet version of "
Because We Believe", "Ama, credi e vai", with
Gianna Nannini at the "großen Fan Party" at the opening of the
2006 FIFA World Cup, in Berlin in front of billions of worldwide television viewers. On 1 July 2007, Bocelli performed "
The Music of the Night" from
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
The Phantom of the Opera, in a special musicals medley during the
Concert for Diana at
Wembley Stadium in London, England. Bocelli returned to his home town for a concert at the newly created
Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico on 5 July 2007, with guest appearances by
Kenny G,
Heather Headley,
Lang Lang,
Elisa,
Sarah Brightman and
Laura Pausini. The concert was later released as
Vivere Live in Tuscany. In September, he debuted at the
Avery Fisher Hall, in New York, with four concerts. October saw the release of the opera album of
Ruggiero Leoncavallo's
Pagliacci with Bocelli singing the role of
Canio. In November, he won the "Best Italian Artist" and "World's Best-selling Classical Artist" awards at the
World Music Awards. In December, he finished his 2006 tour with more concerts in North America and Europe. To promote the album, he performed "
Canto della Terra" at
The Alan Titchmarsh Show on the BBC in London on 1 February; was interviewed by
Fabio Fazio on the Italian talk show
Che tempo che fa on
RAI 3 in Italy; and performed "Canto della terra", "A te" and "Besame mucho" from the album, as well as "
My Way" on 2 February; and made an appearance on
The South Bank Show in London, where he sang the French
aria "Pour mon âme" on 3 February. Then on 10 February, he performed "The Prayer" at the
50th Grammy Awards, held in Los Angeles, with
Josh Groban in a tribute to
Luciano Pavarotti, and sang "
Dare to Live" with
Heather Headley the following day on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On 7 May 2008, he sang at
Steel Aréna in
Košice, Slovakia, in front of 8,000 people. Then on 13 May he sang at the
"Teatro delle Muse" in
Ancona, Italy, for a charity concert for "Francesca Rava – N.P.H. Italia Onlus", a foundation that helps poor and disabled children around the world. On 2 June 2008, he performed at the
Piazza del Duomo, Milan in front of 80,000 people during a concert celebrating the anniversary of the Republic of Italy's formation. Bocelli released the complete opera recording of
Carmen in Italy in the same year, which he recorded in 2005.
Myung-whun Chung conducted the
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Chœur de Radio France for the recording, and Welsh
Bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, was part of the Ensemble. The recording was not released internationally, until March 2010.
Carmen: Duets & Arias, a single-disc collection of some of the arias and duets of the recording, was also released in 2010. On 20 July, Bocelli held his third concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico, his hometown. The concert was a tribute to the
cinema of Italy. Its performers included Italian composer and musician
Nicola Piovani, Italian ballet dancer
Roberto Bolle, Israeli singer
Noa, and Charice. Then on 31 July, he performed at a concert in
Vingis Park in
Vilnius, Lithuania, in front of more than 18,000 people. Australian singer
Tina Arena performed two duets with Bocelli – "Canto Della Terra" and "
The Prayer" – at the closing stages of the concert. On 7 August 2008, he held a benefit concert at
Medjugorje,
Bosnia Herzegovina, and was accompanied by the
Czech National Symphony Orchestra. On 26 September 2008, during the 2008
Veneto Festival, he held a concert in the
Church of the Eremitani in
Padua, Italy. He was accompanied by the
I Solisti Veneti orchestra, celebrating its 50th birthday and conducted by
Claudio Scimone, and by the
Wiener Singakademie choir. The concert was a celebration of
Giacomo Puccini's 150th birthday. On 10 and 11 October he performed at
Petra, singing "
Dare to Live" with
Laura Pausini, as well as performing "E Lucevan le Stelle" from
Tosca. On 19 October, he sang "
'O surdato 'nnammurato" and a duet of "Non Ti Scordar Di Me" with
Cecilia Bartoli, both from the
Incanto album, during the
ECHO Awards in Germany; and later presented the soprano with an ECHO award. On 24 October, he performed at
Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, as a tribute to the city, where he celebrated the Italian release of
Incanto. Performing with him were flautist Andrea Griminelli, Italian pop singer
Massimo Ranieri and soprano
Cecilia Bartoli, with
Steven Mercurio conducting the
Czech National Symphony Orchestra. On 31 October, he performed a solo version of "The Prayer", as well as "
Because", a song from
Incanto, live on
The Oprah Winfrey Show. On 21 and 22 November Bocelli was amongst a quartet of soloists (soprano
Sabina Cvilak,
mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich and
bass Alexander Vinogradov) to sing Rossini's
Petite messe solennelle, conducted by
Plácido Domingo, at the
Washington National Opera in Washington, D.C. Bocelli sang twice in the piece and later the two tenors sang "
The Pearl Fishers' Duet" which would be the first
aria they had ever sung together. On 25 and 26 November he starred alongside soprano
Verónica Villarroel in an opera in concert of Mascagni's
Cavalleria rusticana at the
"Municipal Auditorium" in
San Antonio, Texas. He returned to the United Kingdom, 16 December, for an appearance on
The One Show, broadcast live by
BBC One, and on
The Alan Titchmarsh Show which aired 18 December, on
ITV1. On 21 November, a segment of
Leute Heute, a German
tabloid-program on
ZDF, was about
My Christmas and Bocelli's meeting in Rome with
Pope Benedict XVI and 250 other artists, an event which was broadcast live earlier that day in Italy, by
Rai Uno. Bocelli was also joined by the
Piccolo Coro dell'Antoniano, in his home in
Forte dei Marmi, where they sang "Caro Gesù Bambino", a song from
My Christmas which was
originally recorded by the choir in 1960.
Rai Uno also broadcast the performance later that day, during the
Zecchino d'Oro Festival. The following day, Bocelli was among Fabio Fazio's guests, on his popular Italian talk-show,
Che tempo che fa, broadcast on
Rai Tre. During the program Bocelli talked about his album and performed "
The Lord's Prayer", "
White Christmas", and "
Silent Night". It was also announced that Bocelli would return to the show on 20 December and give a live concert of
My Christmas. Bocelli also took part in the annual
2009 José Carreras Gala, on 17 December, where he sang
Adeste Fideles, before singing "White Christmas" with
José Carreras for the very first time; this was broadcast live, by
Das Erste, in Germany. He then returned to Italy, for a concert in the
Upper Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, on 19 December, which was broadcast directly after the
Urbi et Orbi blessing of Pope Benedict XVI, 25 December, on
Rai Uno. In North America, Bocelli gave 6 concerts. On 28 November, he performed in the
BankAtlantic Center, in
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He later performed in the
Air Canada Centre, in
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the
Izod Center, in
East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the
William Saroyan Theatre, in
Fresno, California (changed from the much larger
Save Mart Center due to scheduling conflicts), in the
MGM Grand, in
Las Vegas, and finally in the
Honda Center, in
Anaheim, California, on 3, 5, 8, 12 December and 13. His last three arena concerts alone grossed a total of over 5,6 million dollars, placing him third on
Billboard Magazine's week's Hot Tours ranking, behind the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra and
Il Divo, who both held over 5 times more concerts worldwide, compared to Bocelli's three in the United States, explaining their better showings. In the United States, Bocelli made a number of high-profile TV appearances. He first performed "White Christmas" at the 83rd annual
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, broadcast live on
NBC, 26 November. He performed the song again on 30 November during
The Today Show also live. His appearance on
The Oprah Winfrey Show during her
Holiday Music Extravaganza, where he sang "
What Child Is This", with
Mary J. Blige, and later closed the show with
Adeste Fideles, was also aired the same day, and was later rebroadcast on 23 December. Bocelli also sang "Adeste Fideles" and was interviewed by
Barbara Walters and
Joy Behar on
The View, which aired 2 December, on
ABC. On 8 December, he performed "
Jingle Bells" with
The Muppets on
The Jay Leno Show. He also performed a number of songs from the album, including "
The Christmas Song" with
Natalie Cole, during a dinner at
David Foster's
mansion in
Malibu, which was featured on
The Dr. Phil Show, on 10 December. Bocelli also performed "White Christmas" and "
Silent Night", on the
Larry King Live and
Fox & Friends holiday specials, broadcast on 23 December, on
CNN, and 19, 24 December and 25, on
Fox News. In
Brazil, following the success of the South American leg of the
Incanto tour, where over 100,000 people attended his free concert at the
São Paulo's "Parque Indipendencia", earlier in the year, it was announced that Bocelli would hold another
Open-Air, entrance free, concert in
Florianópolis, on 28 December, where a crowd of about a million people was expected to attend. However, due to financial and political reasons, the concert was later cancelled on short notice, along with all the other events scheduled for Christmas in the city.
2010: Hollywood Walk of Fame and FIFA World Cup On 31 January 2010, during the
52nd Grammy Awards, Bocelli,
Mary J. Blige and David Foster joined forces again, singing "
Bridge over Troubled Water" as a tribute to the victims of that year's
earthquake in Haiti. On 2 March, he was honoured with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to
Live Theater, at 7000
Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the
Roosevelt Hotel. The previous day, Bocelli, along with David Foster, were honoured by
L.A. Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest during a ceremony at the
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, in Hollywood, where
The Story Behind The Voice, a documentary about Bocelli's life and career was shown. On 12 March, Bocelli made an appearance on
Skavlan, in
Oslo, Norway, to promote his upcoming
Scandinavian tour, giving a rare interview to the show's host
Fredrik Skavlan, and later performing "Voglio Vivere Cosi", from his 2008 album
Incanto, with
Norwegian Boys' choir,
Sølvguttene. In April, he returned to Scandinavia for a concert in
Telenor Arena in Bærum, Norway, on 8 April, a concert in
Forum Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 9 April, and finally a concert in the
Ericsson Globe, in Stockholm, Sweden, on 11 April. He was joined by
Heather Headley and 120 musicians from the Stockholm Concert Orchestra, in all three concerts, and by Swedish
mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman in his Swedish concert. , 2010 On 30 April, Bocelli sang "Nessun dorma" during
the opening ceremony of the
Expo 2010, in Shanghai, China. The following day, on 1 May, he held a concert, titled
Charming China, at
Shanghai Stadium. The concert was later broadcast by
Shanghai TV, and by
CCTV Channels throughout
mainland China. The two appearances coincided with Bocelli's Asian tour, consisting of a concert in
Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, on 28 April, a concert in
Jamsil Gymnasium,
Seoul, South Korea, on 2 May, a concert in
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Hong Kong, on 4 May, a concert in
Taipei Arena,
Taipei, Taiwan, on 6 May, The concert was later broadcast, in its entirety, by
Channel NewsAsia, on 28 and 29 May, and by
Okto, on 30 May, in Singapore. An
orchid in the
Botanic Gardens' National Orchid Garden was also named after Bocelli in response to the concert. Australian pop singer
Delta Goodrem performed again with Bocelli in all five concerts, after supporting him in his United States
My Christmas 2009 winter tour. On 18 May, during the
2010 World Music Awards, Bocelli performed "Un Amore Cosi Grande" from his 2008 album,
Incanto, and received his seventh
World Music Award, for "Best Classical Artist". On 5 July, Bocelli gave a concert at the opening of the
Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, in
Astana, on the occasion of
Kazakhstan's
president Nursultan Nazarbayev's 70th birthday. On 9 July, Bocelli headlined the "Celebrate Africa: The Grand Finale" Concert at the
Coca-Cola Dome, in
Johannesburg, South Africa, to mark the end of the
World Cup, two days before the
final. On 13 July,
Montenegrin Statehood Day, Bocelli gave a concert at the seaside resort of
Sveti Stefan, in western
Montenegro, to mark the
Golden Jubilee of the
Sveti Stefan Hotel. On 14 July, Bocelli gave a concert at the
European Parliament's
Espace Léopold, in
Brussels, Belgium, during "Rome in the heart of the future", an event hosted by the
Vice President of the European Parliament for the
seventh parliament,
MEP,
Roberta Angelilli. A screening of the film
Homage to Rome, directed by
Franco Zeffirelli, who was present during the event, and starring Bocelli, in his
cinematographic debut, was shown prior to the special concert. On 25 July, Bocelli held the fifth and final edition of the Teatro del Silenzio. Bocelli's guests included Spanish
Catalan tenor
José Carreras, and Italian rock singer
Zucchero. Sculptures by Swiss artist
Kurt Laurenz Metzler, who attended the concert, were exhibited during this year's edition. Bocelli was also awarded the
Pisano Doc, during the dress rehearsal for the concert, on 24 July, and received the 2010
Premio Lunezia nel mondo, during a private ceremony held on 21 July, for "the musical-literary quality of his songs." In September 2010, Bocelli held a concert at the
Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in
Athens, Greece. All proceeds were donated to help cure cancer. Bocelli also gave concerts in
Cairo, Egypt, in front of the pyramids and the
Great Sphinx of Giza, as well as a fundraising concert inside the
Duomo di Milano to benefit victims of the
2010 Haiti earthquake. As part of the 2010 leg of the
My Christmas Tour, Bocelli gave two concerts in
The O2 Arena, in London, and the
Manchester Arena, in
Manchester, and a concert at
The O2, in
Dublin, in late November 2010. His sold-out concert at the O2 in London, was the most attended show in the venue's history, with 16,500 people attending the event. In early December, Bocelli gave 6 concerts in the United States. He performed in
Madison Square Garden, in New York City,
Prudential Center, in
Newark, New Jersey,
TD Garden, in
Boston, Toyota Center, in Houston,
Staples Center, in Los Angeles, and the
MGM Grand's
Garden Arena, in the
Las Vegas Strip. Bocelli also took part in the
Christmas in Washington special on 12 December. On 19 December, Bocelli gave a concert, conducted by
Claudio Scimone, in the
Italian Senate.
2011–2014: Roméo et Juliette and Passione In January, Bocelli gave three concerts in Germany. The concerts in
Munich, Berlin, and
Hamburg were all part of the
Notte Illuminata Tour, launched in
Pisa, at the Teatro Verdi, December 2010. In February, Bocelli performed a recital on the stage of the
Metropolitan Opera house as part of the tour. In late March and early April, as part of the 2011 Latin leg of his Incanto tour, Bocelli gave concerts in
Bogotá, and
Panama City. In May 2011, Bocelli held 5 concerts in East and Southeast Asia and was joined by New Zealand soprano
Hayley Westenra during the tour. He first gave a concert in
Jakarta, Indonesia. Bocelli held two other concerts in
Taipei, and two concerts in
Beijing. In June and July, Bocelli gave two
open-air concerts at historic sites, the first at
Masada, in
Israel, with all proceeds dedicated to support the residents of the Israeli regions of
Galilee and
Negev, and the second at
Syracuse's
ancient Greek theatre, in
Sicily, with all proceeds donated to the
Fiamme di Solidarietà (Flames of Solidarity) organization, to raise awareness of issues concerning the poorest and most marginalized in Italy. performing
Time to Say Goodbye at the
East Meets West concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, June 2012 Bocelli gave a free concert on 15 September, on the
Great Lawn of
Central Park in New York City. He was accompanied by the
New York Philharmonic, conducted by its music director
Alan Gilbert, and the
Westminster Symphonic Choir. The concert was broadcast throughout the United States and Canada, by
PBS, and in Italy, by
Rai 1.
Concerto: One Night in Central Park, the
live album and the
DVD were released 15 November. On 25 September, Bocelli led
Songs of Praise 50th anniversary celebration, alongside
LeAnn Rimes and
Katherine Jenkins. On 15 October, Bocelli performed again for
Pope Benedict XVI and a crowd of 8,000 people in
Vatican's
Audience Hall. On 7 November, he gave an open-air free concert at
Praça Rui Barbosa in
Belo Horizonte, Brazil, to an audience of between 80,000 and 150,000 people. On 17 November, he performed at the Children in Need Rocks Manchester concert, gaining critical acclaim for receiving a standing ovation from a crowd of pop and indie music fans. Bocelli played the role of
Romeo in
Charles Gounod's opera
Roméo et Juliette, at the
Teatro Carlo Felice, for two performances in February 2012. He cancelled a third performance because of
pharyngitis after having vocal strain throughout. On 22 April, Bocelli gave an open-air concert at
Yerevan's
Liberty Square, in
Armenia, dedicated to the proclamation of Yerevan as the 2012
World Book Capital; he was accompanied by the
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marcello Rota. On 19 November, he performed for
Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at the
Royal Albert Hall, during the 100th anniversary of the
Royal Variety Performance. A new studio album titled
Passione, featuring duets with
Jennifer Lopez and
Nelly Furtado, was released on 29 January 2013. On 7 February, Bocelli was an honorary guest at the 61st Annual
National Prayer Breakfast, held at the
Washington Hilton, where he performed "
Ombra mai fu" and
Franz Schubert's "
Ave Maria" in the presence of President
Barack Obama, First Lady
Michelle Obama, Vice President
Joe Biden, as well as other political leaders. On 20 February, he performed at the concert in Moscow
Kremlin dedicated to 20th anniversary of
Gazprom. On 1 June, Bocelli performed with
Plácido Domingo at the
Arena di Verona, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opera festival.
2015–present: Cinema, collaborations, and Sì '' in 2018 Bocelli released his fifteenth
studio album Cinema on 23 October 2015. It contains renditions of classic
film soundtracks and
scores, featuring duets with
Ariana Grande,
Nicole Scherzinger and his wife Veronica Berti. The album received a nomination for
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the
59th Annual Grammy Awards; the Spanish-language version was nominated for
Album of the Year at the
17th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. On 7 May 2016, Bocelli performed at the
King Power Stadium before
Leicester City's final match of the
2015–16 Premier League against
Everton, as part of the club's title celebrations. On 15 December 2017,
Ed Sheeran released a collaboration with Bocelli titled "
Perfect Symphony". The song is a duet version of Sheeran's song "
Perfect", with many of the original English lyrics sung in Italian. In June 2018, Bocelli released the single "If Only", his first after fourteen years. On 20 September 2018, Bocelli released the single "Fall On Me" which features vocals from his son Matteo. The two performed the song on 22 October episode of
Dancing With the Stars. An English version of the song was released in October and was featured in the
Walt Disney Pictures film
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms as the end credit song. Both songs appear on Bocelli's album
Sì, released on 26 October 2018. On 12 October 2018, at the request of his close friend
Sarah, Duchess of York, Bocelli performed two songs at the
royal wedding of her daughter
Princess Eugenie, the
Bach/
Gounod Ave Maria, and
Panis angelicus by
César Franck. On 1 February 2019, Bocelli performed a sold-out concert in
'Winter at Tantora' festival running at
Al-'Ula for the first time in
Saudi Arabia. On 12 April 2020, during the
national COVID-19 lockdowns in Italy, Bocelli performed an Easter Sunday concert from an empty
Milan Cathedral, accompanied by cathedral organist Emanuele Vianelli. The performance, titled "Music For Hope - Live From Duomo di Milano", was streamed live over YouTube, where it continues to be available for replay. About 5 million people tuned in for the live stream performance and, by 13 April 2020, over 32 million views were logged on the archived video. In November 2020, Bocelli released an album,
Believe. It was in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic and featured recent pandemic related songs. He performed Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" during the Opening Ceremony of the
2020 UEFA European Football Championship held in
Rome, Italy, on 11 June 2021. On 5 June 2022, Bocelli performed Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" during the BBC's
Platinum Party at the Palace, one of the celebrations of the
Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. On 21 October 2022, Bocelli released his first collaboration album with his son and daughter, Matteo and Virginia, titled
A Family Christmas. On 7 May 2023, Bocelli performed "
You'll Never Walk Alone" together with
Bryn Terfel during the BBC's
Coronation Concert to mark the
coronation of Charles III. On 26 February 2024, Andrea Bocelli with his son Matteo performed at the
Quinta Vergara Amphitheater Viña del Mar, Chile, at the LXIII
Viña del Mar International Song Festival receiving the Gaviota Silver and Gold. The
Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration concerts were held on 15, 17 and 19 July 2024, at the
Teatro del Silenzio in
Lajatico, Italy. The events were later presented as a theatrical
concert film in the United States and as a two-part television special on
Canale 5 in Italy. Bocelli performed songs from his 30-year career, and was joined by several other musical guests for duets and solo performances. Guest performers included
Jon Batiste,
José Carreras,
Sofia Carson,
Plácido Domingo,
Elisa,
Tiziano Ferro,
Aida Garifullina,
Giorgia,
Lang Lang,
Brian May,
Christian Nodal,
Laura Pausini,
Eros Ramazzotti,
Ed Sheeran,
Nadine Sierra,
Shania Twain,
Bryn Terfel, and
Zucchero, as well as
Russell Crowe,
Johnny Depp and
Will Smith. Bocelli performed "Nessun Dorma" at the
2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, held in
Milan's
San Siro stadium. ==Voice==