(Oct. 5) “Our traditional music is so solid that it knows no barriers.” With 70 million records sold worldwide, Andrea Bocelli retells a story happened to him two weeks ago during his acceptance speech for the “Prize America”, granted to him by the Italia-USA Foundation. During the iTunes Festival, says Bocelli, “we have in front of us a group of young people, rock music fans for the most part, and we were worried that they wouldn’t appreciate our style. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when they sat there, paying attention and appreciating pieces from La Tosca”. During the ceremony, Bocelli also mentioned the artists before him that contributed to exporting Italian music: Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Mario Del Monaco, and Aureliano Perile. “Thanks to them, I have had the career and life I am currently leading. America has always appreciated and encouraged our culture: for all the things we have today, we should be grateful to those who blazed the trail for us.” Andrea Bocelli’s name can be found on the Hollywood Walk of Fame since 2010.
