L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021 L'Italo-Americano t o m a k e s i n g i n g a career? "According to my mother, even in the cradle as a baby, I showed my own powerful and rapt emotional reaction to sound sources. I was cap- tured by them, really ena- mored with them, especially when they were vocal pie- ces. Music has been funda- mental at every stage of my l i f e . A s a c h i l d , I g a i n e d awareness of having a plea- sant voice and an inclina- t i o n t o s i n g i n g s i n c e m y friends and relatives regu- larly asked me to perform. Several times, their insisten- ce made me think: 'Who knows, this in the future might become my profes- sion!'" So why did you study law? You earned a law degree, I believe. "I took that study path because I was interested in law as a subject that offers an in-depth study of rules for coexistence. However, I do not deny that it was also a c h o i c e l i n k e d t o m y parents' concern about my future. I was a loyal student and entered the law profes- sion by loving what I was doing." W h a t d o e s m u s i c mean to you? "Today music remains an indispensable urgency for me, a way to infuse life with lightness and poetry. I am passionate about music for its ability to affect consciou- s n e s s , a n d ' c h a n g e t h e moral character of a soul,' as Aristotle wrote." What inspires you? W h a t a r e t h e d r i v i n g forces behind your sin- ging? "My source of inspiration i s a l w a y s l o v e , i n a l l i t s forms. Love is fire, the engi- ne of the world. Without love, life would have no pur- pose and no meaning. I set up my entire existence by p a y i n g h o m a g e t h r o u g h songs to the force of love and therefore to life, which is the most beautiful and the greatest of gifts." Time goes by yet your success remains unalte- r e d . Y o u h a v e b e e n m a n a g i n g f a m e w i t h h u m i l i t y a n d g r a c e , while it can also harm. Handle (it) with care, a pop song by Traveling Wilburys suggested. So w h a t ' s y o u r s e c r e t t o staying happy and suc- cessful? "For both my classical and pop repertoires, I never yielded to the temptation to a compromise dictated by trends and novelties. My style has not been built in a d v a n c e o r p l a n n e d . Throughout my career, I have maintained a sunny, frank, and direct relation- ship with the audience. I have never tried to flatter my listeners and fans by denying or otherwise exag- gerating my professionalism or artistic convictions. A relationship based on frank- ness and intellectual hone- sty gets repaid with genero- sity." L a s t D e c e m b e r , d u r i n g a s p e c t a c u l a r c o n c e r t , B e l i e v e i n Christmas, live-strea- med from Teatro Regio di Parma, your eight- y e a r - o l d d a u g h t e r Virginia joined you for a m o v i n g r e n d i t i o n o f Leonard Cohen's iconic song Hallelujah. Your son Matteo has a l r e a d y c h o s e n y o u r path. But what if little Virginia did that too? "Above all, I hope that Virginia fulfills her aspira- tions and puts her talents to good use. She has been lear- ning to play the piano for three years now. Virginia has been absorbing the art o f s o u n d s s i n c e s h e w a s born. Yes, I must admit she is in tune, and the first feed- back as a student is encou- raging. But from here to making music a profession, there is room for a thousand variables." Andrea Bocelli on stage (Photo: © Stefano Marinari | Dreamstime.com) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Bocelli says that love is his greatest artistic inspiration (Photo: © Stefano Marinari | Dreamstime.com) "Today music remains an indispensable urgency for me, a way to infuse life with lightness and poetry" Continued from page 6

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