Opera legend Andrea Bocelli's family life - stunning age-gap wife and famous son
A sure sign of Christmas is when the big store adverts start airing and John Lewis's contribution to the retail festival offerings is usually a special one. But this year the department store's advert is not just a visual spectacle - it sounds amazing too, thanks to the music provided by world-renowned opera artist Andrea Bocelli.
It's quite a coup for John Lewis to sign up the world’s most popular living tenor and a best-selling classical crossover artist. Andrea, 65 performs a song called ‘Festa’, which means ‘celebration’. It was written and produced by Le Feste Antonacci specifically for the advert.
Speaking about the track, Andrea Bocelli said he was "delighted to take part in this wonderful and unique tradition of Christmas storytelling." The singer has had a phenomenal career spanning 30 years, working alongside the likes of Sarah Brightman and Barbra Streisand.
But what about his life away from the stage? Born visually impaired in Pisa, Italy, Andrea became completely blind after suffering a brain haemorrhage while playing football. Despite his lack of sight, Andrea also successfully completed a degree in law at the University of Pisa - juggling his studies with music gigs to earn extra money.
The Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in his house in Tuscany with his wife Enrica Cenzatti and their two years old son Amos (Mondadori via Getty Images)
The Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli with first wife Enrica Cenzatti with sons Amos and newborn Matteo (Mondadori via Getty Images)After graduating, he continued singing until a demo tape he made was heard by Italian rock star Zucchero. Bocelli was invited on tour with Zucchero and Luciano Pavarotti also became a fan inviting him to perform at his annual charity gala concert ‘Pavarotti International’.
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While singing in piano bars early in his career he met and married his first wife Enrica Cenzatti. The couple separated in 2002 and share two sons Amos, 28 and 26-year-old Matteo.
Andrea has been married to his second wife and manager Veronica Berti for nine years. Veronica, 39 first met Andrea the same year as his marriage split. In 2012 Andrea, then aged 54, became dad to his third child Virginia.
Andrea lives in a former hotel in the charming town of Forte dei Marmi in Tuscany, with his wife and daughter.
All three of his children have displayed musical talents and play a role in the family business alongside his wife.
Veronica Berti
Singer Andrea Bocelli and Veronica Berti in 2019 (Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images)
L TO R Veronica Berti, Renzo Rosso, Andrea Bocelli and Arianna Alessi in Venice IN 2021 (Getty Images)At 39, Veronica is much younger than Andrea and is also her husband’s manager. The couple met at a party in 2002. She was 18 years old at the time and Andrea was reportedly newly divorced.
The blind singer was attracted to his wife-to-be's voice and “how her skin felt.” He said the chemistry between himself and Veronica was instantaneous. On his official website, he describes her as his soulmate.
Veronica has also dueted with her husband. In 2012, the couple sang a beautiful rendition of the song “Qualche Stupido” before a live audience. The couple has since sung together several times. Their extended family is said to be a happy one. According to Daily Mail, Andrea's ex-wife gets on so well with Veronica that at one point she lived next door to the Bocelli’s estate in Forte dei Marmi, Italy.
Amos Bocelli
Andrea named his eldest son after Amos Martellacci, a man from Andrea’s hometown who had mentored him in university so he could get his law degree. Amos, 28, has a degree in piano performance and Amos accompanied his father on the piano at the Sanremo Music Festival in 2013. However according to Andrea's official website engineering "is the field in which he is working to build a career." Amos also received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Pisa and is reportedly pursuing a career as an aerospace engineer. He's also on the board of directors for the Andrea Bocelli Foundation.
Matteo Bocelli
Matteo Bocelli and Andrea Bocelli in 2016 (Getty Images Europe)Matteo, 28, is a hugely successful singer in his own right and was keen to follow his father's footsteps from a very early age.
In a 2018 interview, he said: "I was following my dad when I could, and I played the piano since I was 6 years old.” But as he grew older the shadow of his father's immense talent loomed large and he wasn't sure if a solo career was for him.
But famed music producer David Foster persuaded him otherwise. In an 2021 interview, Matteo said: “It was only when I met David Foster that I really considered being a singer David has been extremely important in the development of my dad’s career and, without him, I don’t think I’d be on this path. He was the person who said to me, ‘You have the skill and the technical ability; you should be on the stage singing.’"
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Andrea Bocelli (left) and Matteo Bocelli attending the European Premiere of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms held at the Vue, Westfield London. (PA)Matteo made his public stage debut when he was 18 and sang “Verdi” at the Colosseum in Rome in 2017. Since then, he has released a series of singles and collaborated with his father on the ballad "Fall on Me” from his 2018 album Sì. Two years later he released a new version of a Disney favourite -The Lion King's ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ wth the blessing of original singer Elton John.
Matteo has released a number of duets with his dad, including the hit ‘Fall on Me’ which appeared in Disney’s The Nutcracker and The Four Realms. In 2022 Kourtney Kardashian booked Matteo and his dad to sing at her 2022 wedding to Travis Barker. Matteo continues to find opportunities to sing with his dad. He and his sister Virginia contributed to Andrea's 2022 holiday album, A Family Christmas. The trio also went on tour together to promote the album
Virgina Bocelli
Virginia Bocelli, Andrea Bocelli, and Matteo Bocelli in 2015 (Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)The star's only daughter, Virginia is now 12. As an older dad, Andrea has spoken about how the age gap between his second and third child helped him learn to be a better parent. “I think that becoming a father again now that I’m a mature man helped me be a less anxious, stronger parent, more capable of treasuring every moment with my children as they grow up next to me every day,” he wrote.
In a September 2018 interview with , Andrea said raining a daughter is "not that different from raising sons. We will share with her the same values that we did with them because I think the result of my sons is very good.”
Virginia Bocelli enjoying beekeeping with her dad off stage (@virginiabocelli/Instagram)
Virginia and dad Andrea Bocelli (@virginiabocelli/Instagram)Last year Virginia said she was a normal young girl who likes singing songs around the house but that her father's influence meant " not singing typical children’s songs. Instead, I was singing opera songs!” She made her public singing debut in December 2020 aged 8 when she sang a duet of “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen with her father as part of his Believe in Christmas live stream.
Despite the age gap she is very close to her older brothers. She previously spoke of how they give her advice: "Matteo told me, " You should sing and do everything with no regret."
As with most celebrity offspring, Virginia has also tried her hand at modelling. She recently appeared on the catwalk for the Italian brand Monnalisa. Talented Virginia is also a keen gymnast and was placed first at the regional championship in Tuscany in April this year.
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