Andrea Bocelli: A Celebration

Rating:
Summary: You'll Want This Book on Your Coffee Table
Review: "I fell in love with him when I heard him sing." That's what Andrea Bocelli's wife, Enrica, later said of the night they met. It appears that millions of people all over the world are saying the same thing.

Andrea Bocelli: A Celebration, by Antonia Felix, tells in captivating words and stunning photographs, of Bocelli's life-from his youth in idyllic Tuscany, through his roundabout route to phenomenal international success and popularity in both opera and pop music, to his hopes and ambitions for the future.

Andrea is the product of a loving and supportive family and community; to all appearances, he is carrying this thread into the next generation, as we see him now a devoted family man. For most, these two-successful career and happy family-would be evidence enough of a life well lived. But this man does much more. He trains and rides horses, skis, cycles, plays four musical instruments, speaks and sings in several languages, donates his time to charitable causes, and is academically trained as a lawyer.

The editorial review says, "(t)he tone throughout is...that of a glowing admiration for (the) subject" and that Ms. Felix "passes blithely over negative press accounts and the substance of their criticisms." Fair enough. Yet, why would one write a 215-page book about a living individual if one were not already an unapologetic admirer of her subject? For that matter, why else would anyone read such a book? This reader pleads guilty.

Edi Bocelli, Andrea's mother, tells with admirable stoicism how she supported him through his loss of sight-gradual at first, then sudden and final. She wanted him to be "a man, not a handicapped person." For those of us who never would have seen Andrea as handicapped, but simply accepted his blindness as part of the incredible package that this man is, it might prove saddening to read about the difficulties he endured as a child because of his eye problems. Yet, this, too, is undoubtedly part of the package; part of what makes Andrea who and what he is.

Andrea Bocelli is an example and an inspiration for all of us-those who sing, and those who don't; those who see, and those who don't; those who are fans, and those-if such a person still exists in civilized society-who aren't.

Another reader-reviewer has written that the book contains "very little information that has not already appeared in liner notes, journal/newspaper articles and been published on several websites." Perhaps not. But then, none of those will look as nice on your coffee table as Andrea Bocelli: A Celebration. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: The Man Behind The Voice of An Angel
Review: "My blindness has never been a tragedy to me; I don't know why it should be a tragedy to others." This quote by Maestro Bocelli, out of many that are included in this interesting and well-written biography, cogently defines the man behind the beautiful voice.

The author, Ms. Felix, takes the reader on an interesting journey. Her writing style is very engaging and educational, especially for those new to classical music. From his birth with a rare form of congenital glaucoma, all the way to White House to sing for President Clinton, Andrea Bocelli's story has the aura of a fairy tale. But the author firmly grounds the reader in reality. Maestro Bocelli is now a famous man; however, we see his life before and after, and perhaps come away thinking that it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

From his childhood in the hills of Tuscany, through his years in Pisa for law school, we see the struggle of a young man who never allowed his blindess to close his vision of the world. The author's recounting of his law school years, along with his early forays into piano bars, was very intriguing. The story how he met his wife, Enrica, will captivate the reader with its candor, along with his feelings after their first meeting. "When she touched my hand, I knew I had met the love of my life."

Many would say that Maestro Bocelli, a former public defender, was lucky to achieve his fame. One of his countless demo tapes fell into the hands of the manager of Italian pop vocal star, Zucchero, who was looking for a tenor to accompany him on a certain song called, "Miserere." His inital choice was Maestro Luciano Pavorotti, who after hearing the demo, could not believe it came from an unknown piano bar singer. In the end, the Maestro told him, "This guy Bocelli will sing it better than anyone." And with that endorsement, the path was paved for Andrea Bocelli to become a household name in Europe.

This is a very vivid tale about a determined man. The reader may get the impression that he would prefer to sing to his horse, Gisele, rather than combat his admitted stage fright in front of his passionate fans. Or perhaps take to the slopes with gold medalist, Alberto Tomba, who taught Maestro Bocelli how to ski. Or parachute out of a plane on a dare. But this is a rare man with a lifelong passion for singing, and the author paints a complete portrait of him. The reader will come away with an added respect for the man with the angelic voice.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Rating:
Summary: The Man Behind The Voice of An Angel
Review: "My blindness has never been a tragedy to me; I don't know why it should be a tragedy to others." This quote by Maestro Bocelli, out of many that are included in this interesting and well-written biography, cogently defines the man behind the beautiful voice.

The author, Ms. Felix, takes the reader on an interesting journey. Her writing style is very engaging and educational, especially for those new to classical music. From his birth with a rare form of congenital glaucoma, all the way to White House to sing for President Clinton, Andrea Bocelli's story has the aura of a fairy tale. But the author firmly grounds the reader in reality. Maestro Bocelli is now a famous man; however, we see his life before and after, and perhaps come away thinking that it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

From his childhood in the hills of Tuscany, through his years in Pisa for law school, we see the struggle of a young man who never allowed his blindess to close his vision of the world. The author's recounting of his law school years, along with his early forays into piano bars, was very intriguing. The story how he met his wife, Enrica, will captivate the reader with its candor, along with his feelings after their first meeting. "When she touched my hand, I knew I had met the love of my life."

Many would say that Maestro Bocelli, a former public defender, was lucky to achieve his fame. One of his countless demo tapes fell into the hands of the manager of Italian pop vocal star, Zucchero, who was looking for a tenor to accompany him on a certain song called, "Miserere." His inital choice was Maestro Luciano Pavorotti, who after hearing the demo, could not believe it came from an unknown piano bar singer. In the end, the Maestro told him, "This guy Bocelli will sing it better than anyone." And with that endorsement, the path was paved for Andrea Bocelli to become a household name in Europe.

This is a very vivid tale about a determined man. The reader may get the impression that he would prefer to sing to his horse, Gisele, rather than combat his admitted stage fright in front of his passionate fans. Or perhaps take to the slopes with gold medalist, Alberto Tomba, who taught Maestro Bocelli how to ski. Or parachute out of a plane on a dare. But this is a rare man with a lifelong passion for singing, and the author paints a complete portrait of him. The reader will come away with an added respect for the man with the angelic voice.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Rating:
Summary: You'll read it again and again
Review: Beautifully produced and edited book.Pretty enough for the "coffee"table but meaty in content,a deep look into the persona of a man who works at living a serene,positive life.The author is so understanding of her subject that when I started the book I read it straight thru'.I don't know if that is a complement to the author or the subject or both.When I put the book down,I had a sense of having been there as she was writing.Perhaps she has the ability to write this way because of her own involvement in the music community.Whatever it is,the book made Andrea Bocelli a real human being to me,not just another handsome face with a voice to match.Thank you,Ms.Fox. It's been read twice more and when ever I want validation of the human spirit,I will pick it up and read it again.

Rating:
Summary: A good overview of his life
Review: I got this book first, then his he wrote (The Music of Silence). This one has many nice color and black and white pictures of his life and area he came from. I enjoyed it very much. For his die hard fans, I highly recommend getting his book also, you can find it at Amazon UK. You get a much more intimate picture of Andrea and his personal thoughts and aspirations and feel closer to him and have much more understanding of what makes the man that he is. Many more photos-only in black and white-but well worth it-and different than in this book. Not to take away from Felix's book, each one offers totally different things, both are excellent books to get to know Andrea- the first is more towards his career, the second is more personal of his growing up and in his own words. Buy both as you can. They are both well worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: An Insightful Portrait of An Amazing Man
Review: This book has lovely photographs, is well organized and is a good resource of basic information on Andrea Bocelli for those without internet access. However, there is very little information that has not already appeared in liner notes, journal/newspaper articles and been published on several websites. The author does credit one website as her source for 28 articles used in her research. It is nice to have the information attractively packaged in an easily readable form. If you are hoping for new insights or in-depth reporting, you will be disappointed. One bothersome aspect is the blurring between quotes the author obtained directly in interviews and quotes culled from previously published material. Source citations would have been helpful.

Rating:
Summary: Very well done
Review: This is a beautiful book, well written and lavishly filled with wonderful pictures of Andrea and His family, surroundings and special events. This book gives a nice short history of Bocelli's life and a detailed look at his musical career, it is very much a good biography and a good history of Bocelli, it is a good sister book to Andreas auto Biography "The Music Of Silence" which is really detailed about Andrea youth up to his young adulthood and gives his thought's about all the important events of his life, but is not detailed about his career. Felix's book Besides covering HIS Career up To 99 in Great detail she also gives us a nice understanding about those who influenced Andrea musically (the greats of Opera) and about Opera itself. I also agree with the last reviewer it is a nice coffie table book due to the size and the beatiful pictures. Together the books (Andrea Bocelli : A Celebration by Antonia Felix and The Slience of Music : Andrea Bocelli) give a great picture of ANDREA in so many ways, and are a must for every Bocelli fan.

Rating:
Summary: A good overview of his life
Review: This is a very nice book. It is very well written. It taught me many interesting things I did not know about the world of opera and about Andrea's career. I enjoyed it very much. This book is one more thing about Bocelli that I count among my belongings. I have already bought all the albums and the video. This was the only thing I was missing, I think. Well, I am still missing a concert! That's next. I hope I can see him at the Statue of Liberty in New York in July 2000. Viva Bocelli !

Rating:
Summary: BOCELLI TOUCHES THE SOUL LIKE A GENTLE BREEZE IN SUMMER
Review: Who could not possibly hear the strains of "Con Te Partir" from Romanza and not be filled with emotion. Andrea Bocelli is one of the world's most outstanding artists of all time. His voice is like a gift from Heaven sent on the wings of angels, and his charisma is magnetic and empowering.

There has been more than one book written on this extraordinary man; however, I found this one to be filled with more passion and exuberance than others. The reader will learn of Bocelli's faith, childhood, the accident which contributed to his blindness, his encounter with Zucchero (an extremely well-known Italian artist) and his rise to fame. The only flaws with the book are minor; while there are some coloured photographs, many are in black and white which rather distracted from the quality of the book. In addition, the author was rather vague in some parts, leaving the reader feeling that book is not entirely complete. However, the book is still an interesting account of how this talented artist achieved such acclaimed stardom and world-wide adoration.

Rating:
Summary: Get 'Music of Silence' instead.
Review: You can trust biographies some of the time, but you can't trust them ALL the time. As one of Bocelli's biggest admirers I was surprised when I received this book. Although the first in a line of biographies about him, it tells only part of the story of Andrea's life. Felix occasionally jumps off track and discusses operas he's sung, but not too off track. Still, this biography told me some interesting information I didn't even know about him and includes commentaries from people who worked with him or who have experienced him. If you love Bocelli I recommend you read 'The Music of Silence' instead. That book documents the handsome blind Italian tenor's life IN HIS OWN WORDS.