Quotes from Andrea Bocelli

I think I don't want to use drugs or medicine, so nothing. The only way is to go on stage and to hope.

It is the uninvolved parent who has to resort to strictness.

A country that has really resonated with me and I was really impressed with was Israel. I found that the whole country had a very special atmosphere. I was there to perform, but it was one of the few places that I've visited over the years that I had some free time to explore, and I was hugely impressed by all the religious history there.

I've been to almost every country in the world, and the most frustrating thing for me has been that my schedule has always been so busy that there's so little time before and after performances to explore where I'm visiting.

To sing opera, one needs two things: the voice and the passion - and above all, the passion.

I have had the good fortune of being able to sing with many of the finest voices in the world, and for someone who loves voices as I do, this is an enormous privilege.

It's always beautiful to sing with other great voices. I like voices in general. It's a big privilege to have great singers next to me.

The world is full of many beautiful voices; I will perform with many of them. I love women's voices.

I respect very much my public and also the music I perform.

Destiny has a lot to do with it, but so do you. You have to persevere, you have to insist.

I don't know if One Direction will stand the test of time. I have a niece who goes crazy for them. But the only way to judge art is to wait and see if it becomes evergreen. This takes a bit of time. Adele is a very good musician and I'd like to sing with her. But, again, time will tell if her music will become evergreen.

When I sing for myself, I sing in a more free, athletic way. When I face an audience, there is always some fear that makes me put the brakes on a bit.

Success is related to faith. Faith comes first.

Every audience has its character; I like America - they love me. I suffer from stage fright, but in America not so much.

When I sing, I think mostly about the music. But I know that, through singing, my body shows everything that I am. I am a very passionate man and I suffer a lot and have a lot of joy also. In my opinion, it is very important for me to find this stimulus and motivation for singing.

When you're on stage singing, you're naked. Your voice is something very intimate, and that's why I'm scared every time before I perform. It doesn't matter if I'm singing for a king or a queen or the Pope, it's enough to be in front of anybody. I suffer, but I can't do anything about it.

Often, I went in love with some friends in school. And, no, I suffered. Only later, things went better.

I am a very lazy man, so, for me, the dream is to be at home on the chair with my family.

I always knew I would sing. I just didn't know if I would be successful or not. But I sang at school, I sang at parties, I sang at church. Everyone always asked me to sing. I'd be playing football with my friends, and my parents would ask me to sing for their guests. I was never very happy about that because I wanted to play football.

Listen to what others tell you about your voice. If you're only singing to please yourself, you might as well just sing under the shower. But if you're singing for others, you are reliant on them to ask you to sing.

I loved playing football. In this particular match the ball happened to hit my right eye, the only one which I could see light and colour with.

It's important for me who is at the table with me; the moment when everyone speaks to each other and everyone listens. If there's good food, it's much better.

Apart from a period of crisis during my adolescence, when my voice was changing and I could not tame it - it was like a kicking foal that does not listen to reason - I have always been told I have a pleasant and recognizable voice.

People are often quite surprised by the sport and leisure activities practised by the blind. For example, tandem cycling is very popular.