Andrea Bocelli was born on September 22, 1958, in Lajatico, a province of Pisa, Italy. Born with congenital glaucoma, he suffered from very low vision until the age of twelve. At twelve, he lost his sight completely after an accident playing football. Growing up on his family's farm in Tuscany, where they had a small vineyard producing "Chianti Bocelli," Andrea was passionate about art and music.
He studied piano, flute, and saxophone, and later pursued a law degree at the University of Pisa, earning his doctorate. For a year, he worked as a defender of the court before becoming the pupil of tenor Franco Corelli. To pay for his singing lessons, Andrea performed in bars and nightclubs, where he met his future wife, Enrica.
The couple married and had two sons, Amos and Matteo. In 1992, rock star Zucchero held auditions for tenors to perform a demo tape of the song "Miserere," composed by Bono from U2. Andrea was elected, and when Pavarotti heard the tape, he was impressed and recorded the theme with Zucchero, achieving great success.
Zucchero invited Andrea to join his tour across Europe, and he also participated in the annual Pavarotti & Friends charity concert. In 1993, Andrea signed a contract with the record label Insieme/Sugar and participated in the Festival of San Remo, emerging victorious.
Years later, he became the protagonist of La Bohème by Puccini in Cagliari, Italy. He released his "Aria" album, featuring opera themes, and received a Grammy nomination. His subsequent albums, "Sogno" and "Romanza," were also successful.
In the new millennium, Bocelli received two Grammy nominations and embarked on the "World Tour 2000." He released the album "Feel" in 2002 and "Amore" in 2006. With over 70 million records sold worldwide, Andrea Bocelli has become one of the most renowned tenors on the planet.
