ANDREA BOCELLI

Childhood & Early Life

He was born as the son of
Alessandro and Edi Bocelli.
His mother had been
advised to abort the fetus
while she was pregnant with
him. She refused
vehemently and insisted on
giving birth to her child.
His family lived on a farm and
sold farm machinery and
made wine for a living. He
suffered from congenital
glaucoma and completely
lost his sight in a sporting
accident when he was 12.
He displayed a great love for
music from a young age. He learned piano, flute, saxophone, guitar and drums as
a young boy.
As a seven year old he could recognize the voices of the great singers of those times
and even tried to sing like them. He participated in music competitions and gave
concerts while still young.
He finished school in 1980 and studied law at the University of Pisa. He performed
in piano bars in the evenings to earn some money.
Career
He found his big break in 1992 when a demo tape containing Bocellis rendition of
the song Miserere was sent to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti who was highly
impressed by the young musician. The duo recorded a duet which became a
smash hit throughout Europe.
He accompanied Italian rock star Zucchero in his European concert tour in 1993. He
sang duets with him and was also given solo sets in the concert. He performed at
a concert at the Teatro Romolo Valli in Reggio Emilia in December the same year.
He entered the Sanremo Music Festival where he won the preliminary round with
the song Miserere, and participated in the main Sanremo Festival competition
with Il mare calmo della sera and won the newcomers section. He released his
debut album Il mare calmo della sera in 1994 following this win.
His album Songo was released in 1999. It reaches the top spots in pop Album
charts all over the world and registered worldwide sales of over 10 million copies.
He was nominated for the Best New Artist at the Grammysthe first time a
classical musician had been nominated for that category since 1961.
 The album Sacred Arias, released in 1999 featured music composed in traditional
Christian style. It had the tracks Ave Maria (Funeral for a Friend), and Panis
Angelicus. It peaked at No.1 on the Canadian, Italian, and Netherlands Album
charts.
In 2002, his album Sentimento was out. Lorin Maazel along with London Symphony
Orchestra was the conductor of the album. The album was critically praised and
won several awards and accolades.
His album Amore was released in January 2006 for the Valentines Day season. A
remake of the Elvis Presleys song Cant Help Falling in Love was featured in this
album. It also had the duet, Somos Novios (It's Impossible) which he had sung
with Christina Aguilera.
In 2009, he released his first ever Christmas album, My Christmas which was a
compilation of holiday favorites in English, Italian, French and German. The only
original song in the album was God Bless Us Everyone. It was one of the best-
selling albums of the year.
His 2013 album Passione is a collection of Mediterranean love songs. The album
contains duets with Jennifer Lopez and Nelly Furtado. The multi-lingual album has
songs in English, Italian, French, and Spanish.
Major Works
The album Songo, literally translated as Dreams in English was a super hit. It
spawned the hit singles Canto della Terra and The Prayer which was a duet with
Celine Dion. It peaked at No.1 on the pop albums charts in Austria, Sweden and
Switzerland.
His first ever Christmas album, My Christmas was a huge commercial and well as
critical hit. It peaked at No. 1 position on the US Classical albums chart and has till
date sold over three million copiesbecoming one of the best selling holiday
albums in the U.S.
His classical album Sacred Arias is his most commercially successful classical
album. The album reached the No.1 position in the charts of several countries all
over the world and has sold over five million copies. It is the biggest selling classical
album by any solo artist in history.
Awards & Achievements
He is the recipient of seven World Music Awards which include four awards for the
Best Selling Classical Artist and three for the Best Selling Italian singer.
Till date he has won six Classical BRITS Awards including the award for Outstanding
Contribution to Music in 2002.
Personal Life & Legacy
He married Enrica Cenzatti in 1992 and had two children. The couple separated in
2002. He forged a relationship with Veronica Berti whom he met in 2002. He has
one daughter with her.
He regularly performs in charity benefit concerts supporting various causes in
different countries including the Memorial Concert at Ground Zero, in New York
City and the Music of Asia festival in 2004, for the Indian tsunami appeal.
 Words that introduce Quotes or Paraphrases
Neutral Verbs: When used to introduce a quote, the following verbs basically mean "says"
Examples of Neutral Verbs

The author says . . . The author notes . . .

The author believes . . . The author observes . . .

The author comments . . . The author relates . . .

The author declares . . . The author remarks . . .

The author discusses . . . The author reports . . .

The author explains . . . The author reveals . . .

The author expresses . . . The author states . . .

The author mentions . . . The author acknowledges . . .

The author suggests . . . The author thinks . . .

The author points out . . . The author responds . . .

The author shows . . . The author confirms . . .

Sample Sentences

MLA Style

Dr. Billow says that being exposed to television violence at a young age desensitizes
children to violence in real life (author's last name p.##).
As the author notes, "In an ideal classroom, both gifted children and learning disabled
children should feel challenged" (p.##).
Burdow believes that being able to write using proper English grammar is an important
skill (author's last name p.##).
Dr. Patel observes that "most people tend to respond well to hypnotherapy" (p. ##).
We see this self doubt again in the second scene, when Agatha comments, "Oh, times
like this I just don't know whether I am right or wrong, good or bad" (p. ##).
Goeff then relates that his childhood was "the time he learned to live on less than bread
alone" (p. ##).
 The author declares, "All people, rich or poor, should pay the same taxes to the
government" (p. ##).
Godfried remarks, "Ignorance is a skill learned by many of the greatest fools" (author's last
name p.##).
The article discusses the qualities of a good American housewife in the 1950s (author's
last name p.##).
After the war is over, the General reports that "It seemed a useless battle to fight even
from the start" (p.##).
Danelli explains, "All mammals have hair" (p.##).

APA Style

The author reveals his true feelings with his ironic remark that we should "just resort to
cannibalism to defeat world hunger" (p. ##).
Forton expresses disapproval of the American welfare system (author's last name,
year, p. ##).
The author states that "More than fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce" (p. ##).
He also mentions, "Many children grow up feeling responsible for their parents' mistakes"
(p. ##).
Jones acknowledges that although the divorce rate is increasing, most young children still
dream of getting married (author's last name, year, p. ##).
The author suggests that we hone our English skills before venturing into the work force
(author's last name, year, p. ##).
The author thinks that the recent weather has been too hot (author's last name, year, p.
##).
Folsh points out that there were hundreds of people from varying backgrounds at the
convention (author's last name, year, p. ##).
Julia Hertz responded to allegations that her company was aware of the faulty tires on
their cars (author's last name, year, p. ##).
His research shows that 7% of Americans suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder (author's last
name, year, p. ##).
Jostin's research confirmed his earlier hypothesis: mice really are smarter than rats (author's
last, year, name p. ##).
[ Return to Top ]

Stronger Verbs: These verbs indicate that there is some kind of argument, and that the quote
shows either support of or disagreement with one side of the argument.
Examples of Stronger Verbs

The author agrees . . . The author rejects . . .

The author argues . . . The author compares . . . (the two studies)

The author asserts . . . The author admits . . .

The author cautions . . . The author disputes . . .

 The author emphasizes . . . The author contends . . .

The author insists . . . The author denies . . .

The author maintains . . . The author refutes . . .

The author claims . . . The author endorses . . .

Sample Sentences

MLA Style

Despite criticism, Johnston agrees that smoking should be banned in all public places
(author's last name p.##).
The author argues that "subjecting non-smokers to toxic second-hand smoke is not only
unfair, but a violation of their right to a safe environment" (p.##).
Vick asserts that "cigarette smoke is unpleasant, and dangerous" (p.##).
The author cautions that "people who subject themselves to smoky bars night after night
could develop illnesses such as emphysema or lung cancer" (p.##).
Rosentrhaw emphasizes that "second-hand smoke can kill" (p.##).
Still, tobacco company executives insist that they "were not fully aware of the long term
damages caused by smoking" when they launched their nationwide advertising campaign
(author's last name p.##).
Though bar owners disagree, Johnston maintains that banning smoking in all public
places will not negatively affect bar business (author's last name p.##).
Jefferson claims that banning smoking in public places will hurt America's economy (author's
last name p.##).

APA Style

Johnson refutes allegations that his personal finances have been in trouble for the past
five years (author's last name, year, p. ##).
Whiley rejects the idea that the earth could have been formed by a massive explosion in
space (author's last name, year, p. ##).
Lucci compares the house price in Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia (author's
last name, year, p. ##).
Although they have stopped short of admitting that smoking causes cancer in
humans, tobacco companies have admitted that "smoking causes cancer in laboratory
rats" (p. ##).
For years, local residents have been disputing the plans to build a new highway right
through the center of town (author's last name, year, p. ##).
Residents contend that the new highway will lower property values (author's last name,
year, p. ##).
The Department of Transportation denies claims that the new bridge will damage the
fragile ecosystem of the Potomac River (author's last name, year, p. ##).
Joley endorses the bridge, saying "our goal is to make this city more accessible to those who
live outside of it" (p. ##).
Inference Verbs: These verbs indicate that there is some kind of argument, and that the quote
shows either support of or disagreement with one side of the argument.
 Examples of Inference Verbs

The author implies . . .

The author suggests . . .

The author thinks . . .

Sample Sentences

MLA Style

By calling them ignorant, the author implies that they were unschooled and narrow
minded (author's last name p.##).
Her preoccupation with her looks suggests that she is too superficial to make her a
believable character (author's last name p.##).
Based on his research, we can assume Hatfield thinks that our treatment of our environment
has been careless (author's last name p.##).

One phrase that is often used to introduce a quotation is,

According to the author, . . .

Sample Sentences

APA Style

According to the author, children with ADD have a shorter attention span than children
without ADD (author's last name, year, p. ##).