Thursday, December 1, 2011

ANDREA HAS A NEW FAN.


Hey, this guy is terrific and I’m a pathetic latecomer to realize quite how terrific he is. (That is Andrea Bocelli  with Kathryn Jenkins above.) I first saw him perform with Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo on television where he was overpowered by the other voices it seemed to me. I couldn’t figure out why he never opened his eyes and needed a shave.  Over the years, a glimpse of him here and there revealed a beauty and purity of voice that I enjoyed but I had never watched a full Andrea Bocelli concert.  (I watch very little television.)  And, I knew nothing about his life.  What would we do without Wikipedia? You can check out his biography for yourself at the following link if you like.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Bocelli
He went completely blind at age 12 and made it in a tough and demanding business. He has maintained a demanding work schedule since 1992.  I was stunned. He played piano bars to put himself through law school and worked as a court appointed attorney for a year before he went into music full-time.  He’s blind! I watched the Christmas Concert on PBS Tuesday evening with David Foster and a number of guests including Kathryn Jenkins, Natalie Cole and the Muppets. Now, I know what beauty his voice can give you.  Better late than never. And, now I understand why he rarely opens his eyes.

I picked up this painting of Andrea from Wikipedia. There was no attribution, but as you can see, his trademark three-day old beard. Sorry if I was disrespectful. His Christmas Concert with David Foster was a wonderful, eye-opening experience for me. I love this guy.  If you go to the following link and type in his name you can hear his music.
http://www.pandora.com/#

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