The Music of Silence: A Memoir

Behind Andrea Bocelli`s extraordinary success lies a story of personal triumph more dramatic than any opera.
In this honest and engaging memoir, translated from the Italian, Bocelli talks as never before about his blindness, his early life, the importance of his family, stage fright, and the pressures of international stardom.
Andrea Bocelli can not remember a time when he was not passionate about music. Born among the vineyards and olive groves of rural Tuscany, Andrea was only a few months old when his beautiful blue eyes began to fail. ”He suffered much, and it was difficult to calm him,” his mother Edi explains. It was the music filtering into his room from the neighboring flat that would calm the unsettled child. She says, ”It seemed that his tranquility came from that very music. I was happy because I had discovered something that gave some relief from his pain.”
Andrea`s parents nurtured and encouraged his love of music. His passion for opera was also apparent, and he participated in local talent contests and took home several prizes. At the age of twelve, however, Andrea was tragically blinded during a soccer game. Undeterred he continued to sing, learning to use special Braille sheets and musical scores.
It was only after he earned his law degree that he was inspired to embark on an attempt to join the ranks of the great tenors. Bocelli`s persistence and passion paid off an audition in 1992, when he stunned Pavarotti with the seemingly effortless way he had captured the essence of the song ”Miserere.” It was this audition that accelerated Andrea from piano bar performer to the phenomenal international success we all adore today.
No fan of classical music can afford to be without the engaging and humble memoirs of this fascinating, triumphant star.