With its panoramic ocean views and art deco architecture, Tuscan seaside resort Forte dei Marmi is opera star Andrea Bocelli's home.Half an hour's drive from Pisa, torrential rain greets me upon my arrival on a less than balmy spring afternoon. But, despite the weather, it's easy to see why the 49-year-old tenor - born nearby in the village of Lajatico - doesn't like being away too long from the lavish waterfront mansion he shares with his girlfriend, Veronica Berti."Tuscany has been a big influence on my life so, in that sense, it has helped me to grow peacefully," Bocelli says. "Normally this is a sunny place with lots of fields and lots of green. It's a really nice place to live and this helps considerably when you are growing up."Bocelli will soon be journeying a long way from his beloved Italy when he embarks upon an Australasian tour in August that will include his first visit to New Zealand since he performed in Christchurch in 2002."I am very much looking forward to it because, this time, I hope to bring my children with me," says Bocelli, whose former wife and two sons live next door. "I remember everything about New Zealand. It was a beautiful experience. The atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful."
Accompanying Bocelli in New Zealand will be the Czech National Orchestra along with soprano Paola Sanguinetti and baritone Gianfranco Montresor. "The tour will have a repertoire consisting of some arias, some duets and some Neapolitan songs," he says. "And at the end of the concert, there will be some of the more popular songs that I have done."Although he prefers playing in more intimate surroundings, Bocelli has no qualms about appearing at Auckland's cavernous Vector Arena."There is no doubt that the best place to sing is in a theatre, especially if the singing or the symphony is performed in the orthodox way, that is without any technology. When you play in an arena - whether it's an indoor or outdoor space - something different happens. It is a different experience altogether because you have this feeling of unity. That kind of venue is also ideal for those people who are normally a little reluctant to go see a classical concert so it is a good way to pull in a different crowd."That is perhaps the price that Bocelli, who has sold more 60 million albums since he released his debut album Il Mare Calmo Della Sera in 1992, has had to pay for his considerable success. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's caustic comments about Hayley Westenra and other such popera singers, whom she branded as "the new fakes for the new generation" because they sing with a microphone, made waves around the world with Bocelli recently admitting to the Radio Times that he has sold his talent short.
