Andrea Boccelli returns passione to the Strip

Andrea Bocelli’s holiday-season Las Vegas visits have become something of a tradition for both the city and the performer. So the legendary Italian tenor’s Dec. 6 concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena -- his sixth performance at the nearly 17,000-person venue -- will offer both a stunning show and a warm sense of reunion.

“It is a venue I am particularly fond of,” said Bocelli, in an interview translated from his native Italian. “I am an emotional and despite a 20 year career, I always feel a bit tense before getting on stage. But here this feeling always starts melting away from the very first notes. For me it is a family place where I can ideally hug a lot of friends.”

Although he made his U.S. debut in 1998, it was a televised Las Vegas concert in 2005 that made Bocelli a household name.

In December of that year, Bocelli’s first-ever contemporary music concert took place on an elaborate floating stage at Lake Las Vegas Resort. The show was broadcast nationwide on PBS and then released as his “Under the Desert Sky” DVD, which debuted at No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

“The DVD was really well received and jumped to the top of the charts, thus arousing an even greater interest in the album ‘Amore,’” Bocelli recalled. “The contributing factor in the excellent result of this album has surely been Las Vegas audiences -- so warm, sympathetic, passionate and generous. It is an audience that knows how to have fun, how to express joy and share emotions.”

Raised on a farm in the Tuscany region of Italy, Bocelli did not seem predestined for a music career. Born with congenital glaucoma, he lost his vision altogether following a childhood soccer accident. Though he displayed great passion for music and started piano lessons at an early age, Bocelli instead earned a law degree and worked as an attorney.

Bocelli found his way back to music as a performer on Italian rock star Zucchero’s 1993 European tour. After winning the newcomers section of the 1994 Sanremo Music Festival competition, he released his well-received debut album, “Il Mare Calmo Della Sera.”

International fame came with the 1995 single “Con Te Partirò,” a record-breaking hit, with an English-language duet version with soprano Sarah Brightman (“Time to Say Goodbye”). The song’s success propelled Bocelli’s self-titled sophomore album to multiplatinum sales. He has since sold 80 million albums worldwide and performed duets with A-list artists including Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez.

Although he has toured extensively, Bocelli’s performances are never the same. He is promising something special for his upcoming MGM Grand Garden Arena concert, where he will be joined by conductor Eugene Kohn, soprano Maria Aleida, featured violinist Caroline Campbell, and Tony and Grammy award winner Heather Headley.

“The variables depend on many reasons, starting from the fact that the partner voices change from one show to another, and every guest adds his/her own cultural and stylistic background,” Bocelli said. “The first part will be devoted to an exclusively operatic repertoire. Then there will be popular romanzas and songs that my public expects to hear from my voice, and for sure I will not disappoint them.”

Bocelli’s most recent release, a live CD/DVD compilation titled “Love in Portofino,” came out in October, featuring some of his best-known songs and selections from his latest studio album, “Passione.”

-Paul Rogers, Brand Publishing Writer