For Andrea Bocelli and his children, singing is a family business

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When it comes to the mammoth task of performing for a typical crowd of 20,000, each member of the Bocelli family prepares in different ways.

Daughter Virginia, 10, is known for doing jackpots. “I love gymnastics, so when I’m dancing, moving my body before I get on stage and my heart is racing, it’s because of the jackhammers, not because I’m scared.”

Meanwhile, her brother Matteo is resting. “I try to relax,” the 25-year-old explained. “The best medicine for your voice is sleep.”

As for Andrea, 64, the legendary tenor and their superstar father? There is no pre-show routine at all.

“There are no good luck rituals, no lucky charms,” ​​Andrea explained. “We reduce stress by having a clear conscience, living as healthy a life as possible, and addressing the public with appropriate seriousness and positivity.”

These three perspectives came together for the first time this year when Virginia and Matteo toured the country with Andrea in support of his latest album, “A Family Christmas.” A follow-up to the 2009 Christmas blockbuster “My Christmas,” Andrea and his two children take listeners on a seasonal journey through a series of covers and original tracks that prove his knack for being goosebump-inducing Sound is in their genes.

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According to Andrea, the album’s theme is a simple but powerful one: “Family is a blessing, a source of strength, and the bedrock of society.” Songs like “The Greatest Gift” are a heartfelt An original ballad that combines the pop vocals of Virginia and Matteo with Andrea’s signature vocals, complemented by orchestra and choir.

“It’s a program that was really conceived by one family for all families,” says Andrea, though he admits he “also can’t deny that a strong motivator is also the possibility of spending more time with my kids.”

The offspring of the Italian tenor happened musically in a purely organic way. (While he doesn’t sing on stage with his family, even Andrea’s eldest son, Amos, an aerospace engineer, is good at the piano. “As for the music business, he’s kept his distance from it,” says the patriarch Say.)

Growing up, it was common for the Bocelli family to sing around their sprawling Tuscan villa. “I never thought I’d be going on tour with my dad, but all I can say is I’m ready,” said Virginia, who made her debut with her father during the pandemic. Andrea was set to sing Leonard Cohen’s classic “Hallelujah,” but the plan was for him to sing it in English.

“He didn’t want to learn English lyrics, and I overheard the conversation between my parents,” she recalls. “So I just said, ‘Oh, I can sing a small part.'”

And so, 8-year-old Virginia and her father took to the stage in December 2020 at Teatro Regio, the treasure box of the Teatro Parma, Italy, and performed a tender duet surrounded by flickering candles. It turned out to be the perfect introduction: By the time the performance was filmed and eventually racked up 24 million views on YouTube, the theater was empty due to covid restrictions. “It’s a lot scarier for the audience,” said Andrea’s youngest child.

Matteo’s official singing from the age of 18 was a bit scary; he took his first bow with his father in the Colosseum in Rome.

“People think it’s very difficult to perform next to Andrea Bocelli,” says Matteo, who first recorded the duet “Fall on Me” with his father for the album “Si” in 2018. “But Andrea Bocelli is also just my father, and the presence of your father is very helpful to be on stage with you.”

In addition to family Christmas plans, Matteo is also budding in his own pop music career. He signed with Capitol Records and is working on his debut album. He also recently contributed the song “Cautionary Tale” to the 2022 fantasy film “Three Thousand Years of Desire,” in which he also starred, and recently sang “Until She gone”. Matteo joined Andrea at Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s high-profile wedding in Portofino, Italy earlier this year ) to perform together.

However, Matteo is entering the family business with the cautious approach his father taught him. “I think it’s clear to my kids that fame isn’t a value in itself,” Andrea said. At Matteo’s age, Andrea had already completed his law studies at the University of Pisa and spent a year as a court-appointed lawyer.

“There’s no denying the satisfaction of being appreciated, but being famous isn’t an intrinsic quality,” Andrea explains. “In fact, if one’s goal is to gain true human depth, that’s a hindrance, because with fame it’s easier to lose touch with reality. If you don’t keep your feet on the ground, you run the risk of getting lost. Every form of vanity It’s an intellectual challenge that we try to distance ourselves from.”

But that doesn’t mean the Bocellis don’t enjoy the benefit of the crowd, as seen at their stop at New York’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month. Their performances there have become an annual holiday tradition, featuring a first half of the classic opera and a second act filled with Christmas cheer, as well as Andrea’s hits like “It’s Time to Say Goodbye” and “Perfect.”

Andrea’s children were by his side as the family bowed in thanks at the end of the show Go to the edge of the stage and walk down a series of steps. (The tenor lost his sight at age 12.) With the crowd still standing, Andrea can be seen conferring with his children before deciding whether to come back for an encore. This is repeated multiple times as the audience continues to cheer another song for each successive decision.

“Dad always wanted to go out one more time, one more time, and we went out five times,” Virginia said. “He loved hearing the emotion, all the cheers and applause. And then finally we left, and bowed left, right and center — family.”

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