Andrea Bocelli Quotes

I don’t like being called ‘macho.’ Macho basically means stupid and a real Italian man is not macho, he’s smart. That’s smart in both senses: elegant and clever.

It’s very important for me to try to relax when I’m travelling, and playing my flute helps me to unwind.

I live for my children, so my number one rule is I won’t go away from home for more than two weeks.

When I hear that young people have come to the theater for the first time to listen to opera, I’m very happy. Because it’s the same thing that happened to me as a child. When I first heard the tenor voice, I immediately fell in love with this kind of music.

I’m a country boy, and we’re the product of our upbringing. As a boy, I was told that men don’t cry.

I never think about gifts. It’s enough to have my family present.

I’m most impressed by the Russian writers, so I love reading the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Another author who has informed the way I think is the French philosopher, Blaise Pascal.

I try to find some time for my horses. I began when I was a child, because I was born and grew up in a little village. And many people ride the horses. So, it was a big – it has been a big passion for me.

People wonder if there is a relationship between my lack of sight and the way I sing. But there’s no connection.

I am a very lazy man, so, for me, the dream is to be at home on the chair with my family.

When I get on stage, my first goal is not to show my expertise, but on the contrary, to give a bit of happiness, of joy, of cheerfulness. I am firmly convinced that in order to sing well, you must love your neighbor and be passionate about life.

When the mood takes me, I like to be a man of action. I like to windsurf and ski, and most of all I love to ride horses. The wilder and faster the better!

I was a daredevil before, and after I lost my sight I was the same. I loved riding bikes, scooters and horses. I even learned to box. Muhammad Ali is my hero.

I don’t have an extraordinary degree of self-confidence, but I know the gift I have been given from God and I try to share it with as many people as possible. Having a great voice is not a merit. I don’t think it is a merit.

I like very much to ride horses. I like soccer, I have had a passion for boxing since I was a child, although it would be stupid for me to box.

Faith has a role to play in life. It is not related to success. It is the other way round. Success is related to faith. Faith comes first.

People wonder if there is a relationship between my lack of sight and the way I sing. But there’s no connection.

Destiny has a lot to do with it, but so do you. You have to persevere, you have to insist.

I consider the voice a gift from the heavens, and as all the gifts from the heavens, they must be used, but the minute that the heavens call it back then of course I will stop.

I prefer to work for my country in a free and independent way. I was born free, and I want to die free. I am always suspicious of ideology. Instead, I respect men with ideas.

A voice is very intimate. It’s something of your own. So there’s always this fear, because you feel naked. There’s a fear of not reaching up to expectations. As you become more famous, people come and expect to hear something extraordinary, so you don’t want to disappoint them. I feel this sense of responsibility.

I live for my children, so my number one rule is I won’t go away from home for more than two weeks.

It’s always beautiful to sing with other great voices. I like voices in general. It’s a big privilege to have great singers next to me.

I speak to God every day.

Every audience has its character; I like America – they love me. I suffer from stage fright, but in America not so much.

I first started playing in piano bars for three reasons – to make money, to be in the company of my friends – and also to hook up with young girls. I always knew, even before I played in piano bars, about the effect of my voice.

Criticism in good faith is good. When it’s targeted solely to destruction, I’m not interested.

When I was very young, I started trying to sing like the great tenor Mario Lanza; my family used to play his records. We all learn best by imitating others.

I love eating shabu-shabu in Japan – a kind of beef hotpot. But if you’re talking about authentic, traditional food, then Italian cooking is one of the best in the world.

Probably the first time I left Italy was to travel by train to Lourdes. I went with my mother and my grandmother – who was a very religious person – so it was a pilgrimage of sorts. I remember it as a very intense, but beautiful experience.

I was an agnostic until I realized that I had to choose between God and fate. The idea that humanity and nature are the result of fate was not convincing at all. I find the presence of God everywhere.

I have always tried to perform the music I love, and I think I am lucky because my preferences are often the ones of the public.

I’ve always known that I was born to sing, ever since I was a child.

The fact that I am blind is not what defines my life. It should be of no more interest than my blood type. People wonder if there is a relationship between my lack of sight and the way I sing. But there’s no connection.

Now I’m more sure and I feel myself more comfortable singing.

When a little more than a teenager, I was a piano-bar pianist in the land where I was born and raised, Tuscany.

It’s very important for me to try to relax when I’m travelling, and playing my flute helps me to unwind.

My life experience has taught me nothing happens by chance. Even the idea of the ball in a roulette game: it’s not chance it ends up in a certain place. It’s forces that are at play.

I also always carry my flute. It’s very important for me to try to relax when I’m travelling, and playing my flute helps me to unwind.

When you sing and people want that you sing, then you can hope to be great.

Even in the most beautiful music there are some silences, which are there so we can witness the importance of silence.

The world is full of many beautiful voices; I will perform with many of them. I love women’s voices.

A career is like a house: it’s made of many bricks, and each brick has the same value, because without any one of them, the house would collapse.

I have to face life with a newly found passion. I must rediscover the irresistible will to learn, to live and to love.

When I began singing, it was the first time I was happy in my life. As a baby, I would stop crying when I heard a great singer.

While they are kids, my children must do as I say.

In my iPod, there are many operas, from A to Z. I have ‘Aida’ and ‘Boheme’ and ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Cavalleria’. My passion is for opera, but when I’m in the car, I listen to everything.

I have always loved music and singing, and I am open to listen to any type of music. Regardless of my mood, my heart is always set racing when I listen to opera. When I decide which music I want to hear, my choice is almost invariably an opera recording.

It is not Christian to go against someone. I am in favour of life.

I change the language with which I use my voice. In opera, I know I have an orchestra behind me; I have to communicate to people very far from me.

Stage fright is my worst problem. A voice is very intimate. It’s something of your own. So there’s always this fear, because you feel naked. There’s a fear of not reaching up to expectations.

A career is like a house: it’s made of many bricks, and each brick has the same value, because without any one of them, the house would collapse.

Fatherhood is a very natural thing; it’s not something that shakes up my life but rather it enriches it.

I’ve always been on the side of science that tries to help man. I play an active part with the foundations I’m involved in. Science gives hope.

To sing a duet together means sharing with someone both the pleasure and the responsibility of making music for an audience which is there to feel enjoyment through music.

Let me say that I’ve never thought to conduct because the conductor has to think to the music before the orchestra. And the orchestra comes later. For me, it’s terrible.

Singing provides a true sense of lightheartedness. If I sing when I am alone, I feel wonderful. It’s freedom.

What is beautiful enchants me. I mean not just physical beauty but a wider concept of beauty. There is beauty in poetry and in great musical or singing performances. There is beauty everywhere if you can just see it.

Stage fright is my worst problem.

Destiny has a lot to do with it, but so do you. You have to persevere, you have to insist.

More people are listening to opera, and I’m happy – everybody must be given that opportunity.

When you’re on stage singing, you’re naked. Your voice is something very intimate, and that’s why I’m scared every time before I perform. It doesn’t matter if I’m singing for a king or a queen or the Pope, it’s enough to be in front of anybody. I suffer, but I can’t do anything about it.

You have to have great passion, because to sing operatic music requires lots of work. I study for at least two hours every day. The voice is like an instrument and requires constant exercise.

To sing a duet together means sharing with someone both the pleasure and the responsibility of making music for an audience which is there to feel enjoyment through music.

Stage fright is my worst problem. A voice is very intimate. It’s something of your own. So there’s always this fear, because you feel naked. There’s a fear of not reaching up to expectations.

I want to have time for myself, my family and my friends. It’s important because in order to sing well, you must have inspiration, and inspiration comes from life, from living.

For me, riding a two-wheeler bike was very risky. Counting the pedal strokes before turning a corner and learning to hear the sounds coming from buildings, grass and the climbing frame made all the difference to basic survival and ensured that I didn’t end up head-first in the sandpit.

Opera singing is in every way of inestimable value; a real heritage for all mankind that has been reached over centuries of studies, attempts, flights of the spirit.

Because I practice often with my children at home.

The feeling of an evolution is a constant for every artist who is pursuing the search of refinement and enlargement of his/her own means of expression.

I am honored I have performed ‘Quizas Quizas Quizas’ with Jennifer Lopez, an eclectic artist who thanks to the charismatic power of her voice and to her soft sensuality, has managed to make this song particularly convincing.

Music is able to make a person dream. When you dream, you dream of something good, something beautiful, and when you dream, you always dream of yourself better than you are.

More people are listening to opera, and I’m happy – everybody must be given that opportunity.

It’s important for me who is at the table with me; the moment when everyone speaks to each other and everyone listens. If there’s good food, it’s much better.

I have to face life with a newly found passion. I must rediscover the irresistible will to learn, to live and to love.

Some years ago I gave a concert in the mountains with snow all around, and that was much colder.

The activity of a singer that sings opera is similar to that of an athlete.

Apart from a period of crisis during my adolescence, when my voice was changing and I could not tame it – it was like a kicking foal that does not listen to reason – I have always been told I have a pleasant and recognizable voice.

To sing a song is like whispering to a child’s ear. It is an art heavily relying on improvisation.

I’ve always been on the side of science that tries to help man. I play an active part with the foundations I’m involved in. Science gives hope. If it were offered to me? Never say never. But I wouldn’t kill or steal to have my sight. My blindness doesn’t define my life.

I do not think anyone can ever do anything without the help and will of God.

In my iPod, there are many operas, from A to Z. I have ‘Aida’ and ‘Boheme’ and ‘Butterfly’ and ‘Cavalleria’. My passion is for opera, but when I’m in the car, I listen to everything.

Faith has a role to play in life. It is not related to success. It is the other way round. Success is related to faith. Faith comes first.

Popularity gets up people’s noses. But I understand the importance and the function of popular music. There is an artistic purpose. Popular music helps people to develop a curiosity and leads them towards classical music.

When I get on stage, my first goal is not to show my expertise, but on the contrary, to give a bit of happiness, of joy, of cheerfulness. I am firmly convinced that in order to sing well, you must love your neighbor and be passionate about life.

I think I don’t want to use drugs or medicine, so nothing. The only way is to go on stage and to hope.

My idol has been Franco Corelli. But every singer can teach you something.

I did a pop album, ‘Sogno,’ in 1999. I think it’s important to record another pop album because many people love pop music. By this kind of repertoire, some people can later discover classical music.

In singing, you cannot ‘cheat’ if you want to give emotions to those who are listening. You must have something to tell.

Every audience has its character; I like America – they love me. I suffer from stage fright, but in America not so much.