Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe

I've always had faith in my own destiny.

Are you ready, Maestro?

I was born with an affinity for music, and it grew

like my hands, my arms and my legs.

The first thing I do in the morning when I get on my feet,

is to test my voice.

If my voice sounds good,

I relax and wait for the concert.

This place brings back memories of a great concert 33 years ago.

The three most famous tenors in the world sang here.

Virginia?

In 1990, an historical concert took place here.

For the first time, the three most important tenors in the world,

Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras, sang together.

And it was broadcast all over the world.

This is the place.

Can you show me... Where's mum?

Can you show me where the stage is?

Let's take your dad to the stage.

They sang here, was the public over there?

Which one is the long side?

The one facing the audience, of course.

Like any other stage, but it's a narrow rectangle.

-It's very long, rather narrow. -Ah.

And behind you, there's a wonder.

The echo of that concert

still resonates within me.

I feel the weight of that responsibility.

Andrea, let's change your trousers.

What?

Forget about it!

Who cares?

-No, Andrea. -There's no difference.

Please, do me this favor.

I don't want to change my trousers.

-These feel good. -But these will look better.

No! Where is Veronica?

Where is she?

She's coming, Andrea.

[whistling in tune of "Nessun dorma"]

Tell me, Andrea.

I don't want to change my trousers.

Who said that you should change?

You said he had to change his suit?

Who said that?

- Alessandro.

- No.

-You did! -Calm down, behave.

Don't change a thing, just put a waistcoat on.

I didn't say it.

Behave.

Mmm.

As a child, I'd dream of making a living with music.

My biggest dream was to be accompanied by an orchestra.

Reality has exceeded my dreams.

- -

I am very attached to the land where I come from,

but mostly to my language.

The hardest thing for me,

when I'm around the world,

is to speak in languages other than my own.

This is the first property bought by my ancestors in 1831.

My ancestors were farmers under Prince Corsini.

My parents sold farming equipment,

from tractors to bolts.

I remember my father as a great gentleman.

My mother was one of the feistiest people I've ever met.

She was a great saleswoman.

I came out different.

This one must be closed so the horse doesn't run away,

or Emiliano will tell me off.

Nevado!

Come here.

Open your mouth, come on.

Show me your teeth.

See.

Sorry.

How to complicate simple things...

Good, first step is done.

- -

Hang on, I'll put it properly.

Something is not working.

In the rush, it was assembled the wrong way.

Yes. This goes below, like this.

This one goes this way up.

Now it should be all right.

It was the wrong way round.

So,

the correct notch should be the most used one.

Come on,

Let's see if...

it's the right notch.

We're good to go now.

Behave, little horse.

Emiliano, come here to check how many mistakes I've made.

I put the strap the wrong way round.

Exactly, but I noticed it.

But do tell them!

I did it on purpose to see if you'd notice.

- To make my life harder! -

But the horse is now saddled.

- -

As a child, I used to dream day and night about horses.

My grandfather expressed his wish to buy me a horse before dying.

As soon as he passed away, my dad set off to a farm

and he returned home with a Haflinger horse, apt for a boy.

When I came back from boarding school, I found this huge surprise.

My father told me, "She is yours."

That was one of my greatest joys.

From that day on, I started riding and falling, then I learned.

It was my greatest obsession as a child,

- and it stuck with me.

Ordinary people think, "How can he go horse-riding on his own?"

This nonsense comes from ignorance.

I spent most of my life outdoors,

doing all things a country boy does.

This is what I'm used to.

I was obsessed with riding.

When I was young, I even got lost once.

One morning, before going to university.

I woke up really early and went galloping in the woods,

in our stunning countryside.

I was minding my own business,

and I realized I was totally lost.

I tied my horse and waited for someone to look for me.

I won't tell you what my father said to me after they found me.

I'd always go out alone.

I was quite reckless.

["Musetta! Testa adorata" playing]

Zero fear.

[singing "Musetta! Testa adorata"]

Music has helped me to live well.

It's made my life beautiful.

My favorite musical genre is opera, always has been.

Opera is music's heaven.

It reaches the sublime.

And it's one of the highest forms of art humans have ever achieved.

To stage an opera, it takes thousands of years of study.

Because there are 80 or 90 musicians,

who have studied, on average, eight to nine years each.

Then, there's the choir, the singers,

the conductor, the director...

I said a thousand years, but that's not enough.

Virgi?

-Are you still painting? -Hi, Virgi.

Of course.

Hi, Pierpa.

Go ahead.

We should listen to this music on our knees.

It was recorded in San Carlo in the '60s.

It all started when I was a newborn in hospital.

My eyes would hurt a lot.

By chance, in the room next door,

a Russian man had a record player.

My mother noticed that when he played music,

I'd stop crying.

That was a huge discovery.

They noticed that I preferred the opera records.

When I was a young boy,

I learned very soon how to play vinyl on my own,

I had this record player and I'd play the record,

and then I'd circle around the table like a nut case.

Oriana was my nanny, I was very close to her.

I must have been six or seven years old.

One day she came home with a newspaper.

"Franco Corelli stuns La Scala."

She told me, "You must ask for his record,

"so we can listen to it together."

That was the fateful meeting with Franco Corelli.

Which changed my life.

[performing "Andrea Chénier Act 1: Un di all'azzurro spazio"]

It was love at first sight.

I was gobsmacked by his voice.

It was like something went through me.

He was my virtual teacher,

and later,

he became my real teacher as I met him at a masterclass he held in Turin.

[singing "Meco all'altar di venere"]

My lessons with Corelli were a revelation.

He put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You have a beautiful voice."

It was one of the most moving moments in my career.

His most valuable lesson was on expression.