Whether he is singing pop or opera, the world loves Andrea Bocelli. The best-selling pop singer of all time, the Italian tenor has already sold more than 30 million albums. His new opera album, Sacred Arias, sold an astounding four million copies within three months of going on sale.
Yet, the 41-year-old Tuscan knows music critics are almost equally divided in their opinion of his talent: some think he is God's gift to the pop and opera worlds; others are unimpressed.
'Mixed responses from the critics are a normal thing. It happens to everyone [gifted with success],' he says from his home outside Pisa.
'Reviews are very important to me, but one must distinguish between what is genuine and said in good faith and what isn't. Reviews are important as a moment of confrontation and an opportunity to grow professionally.' The success of Sacred Arias is perhaps a vindication of sorts for his talent. 'It is a wonderful music,' he says of opera. 'I have known this type of music from the time I was a child, but with Sacred Arias people have had the opportunity to hear it and have shown themselves to admire it and love it.' The album - recorded under the baton of Myung-whun Chung - is a collection of classical hits such as Ave Maria, Verdi's Ingemisco from Requiem, Handel's Ombra Mai Fu and Mozart's Ave Verum, KV 618.
Sacred Arias, released in January, is not Bocelli's first operatic recording. He released Viaggo Italiano in 1995 and Aria in 1998. And even though his first success came from his pop albums such as Sogno, his love has always been opera.
Bocelli - who was born with congenital glaucoma and lost his sight after a soccer accident when he was 12 - grew up listening to opera stars such as Mario Del Monaco, Beniamino Gigli and Franco Corelli. Corelli, his idol, eventually became his mentor.
His family disapproved of his singing ambitions and he went on to major in law at the University of Pisa. But time did not erode his love for singing, and he gave up a legal career to play and sing in piano bars in Pisa.
