Andrea Bocelli to tour SA

Andrea Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums and nine complete opera.

For his latest release, Si, Andrea Bocelli has teamed up with some of the hottest musical stars on the planet, reuniting with his friend Ed Sheeran after their chart-topping Perfect Symphony on a brand new song called Amo Soltanto Te (written by Ed with lyrics by Tiziano Ferro) and joining with pop sensation Dua Lipa on the single If Only.

Crossover superstar Josh Groban and classical soprano Aida Garifullina also duet with Bocelli on the record. It is his first album of new material in 14 years, featuring 16 brand new songs which celebrate love, family, faith and hope.

At the centre of the new record is a spine-tingling duet between father and son, as 20-year-old Matteo Bocelli steps into the limelight to duet with Andrea on Fall On Me, a beautifully poignant song which reflects the bond between parent and child.

Andrea explains how his voice compares with Matteo’s: “Technically they are very different, but there is one thing that makes them most similar: the attitude.

“That characteristic way of expressing yourself through your voice.

“This makes Matteo and I very similar.

“But that is something that you cannot learn, that cannot be taught.

“That is something you are born with.”

Bocelli’s humble manner belies his international status as one of the world’s biggest classical stars who has sung for popes, presidents and royalty, performed in all the greatest concert halls and opera houses around the world and sold 85 million records.

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He has performed at major international events, including the Olympic Games and the World Cup, as well as his own sell-out arena shows.

Carlo Bernini earned the title of conductor in 1999 at Livorno Conservatoire, under the guidance of Maestro Lorenzo Paris.

Since 1986 maestro Bernini has been Bocelli’s friend and artistic director.

Bernini and Bocelli have worked together doing concerts, operas, classical recordings and have collaborated with record companies alongside the greatest conductors.

Cuban soprano Maria Aleida started her musical studies at the Vicente Emilio Sojo Conservatory in Venezuela in 1999.

She currently studies with voice teacher Bill Schuman and won the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition in Zaragoza (2008).

She is a resident artist at The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

In 2016/17 she joined Bocelli as soloist in a number of concerts.

Pop guest Beverley Knight has been one of the UK’s most consistent artists for two decades, scoring several Top 10 albums, including the platinum-selling voice: The Best of Beverley Knight.

She has sold over a million albums in the UK along the way, including four gold-certified albums.

Her latest album, Soulsville, was released in June 2016 and went straight into the UK Top 10.

Violinist Anastasiya Petryshak began performing at the age of eight, participating and winning numerous important national and international competitions under the direction of Marta Kalynchuk.

In 2005 she moved to Italy to continue her violin studies, later becoming, at the age of 15, the youngest violinist in the high specialisation violin course held by maestro Salvatore Accardo at the Walter Stauffer International Academy in Cremona and at the Chigiana Academy in Siena.

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Since 2010 she has been working regularly as a soloist and in duets with Bocelli, joining him in many concerts to great public and critical acclaim.

Bocelli will be performing, with the full 140-piece Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, on April 18 at the Ticketpro Dome.

The concert will be split into two parts.

In the first part, fans will see Bocelli perform some of the most famous opera arias.

The second part will be dedicated to his most popular hits and crossover songs for a once in a lifetime evening.