Q&A: Singer Bocelli ready to hit new high notes

By Mark Worden

MILAN, Italy (Billboard) - After the recent death of Luciano Pavarotti, much attention has been paid to the search for a successor to the world's best-known classical tenor. If sales history and crossover appeal can be used as guides, Tuscany, Italy-born Andrea Bocelli -- who sang at Pavarotti's funeral -- is surely the key contender.

Bocelli's Italian label, Sugar, claims the singer has racked up career sales in excess of 60 million albums at home and abroad through a series of international licensing deals. That figure looks set to increase significantly after the rollout of Bocelli's career retrospective "Vivere," which arrived October 30 via Decca.

Bocelli's route to international stardom was hardly a conventional one; blind since the age of 12, he financed his singing lessons by performing in piano bars in Pisa, while he attempted to launch a career as a lawyer. Ahead of the new release, the artist talked to Billboard about his remarkable career.

Q: Does a "best of" release feel like a milestone to you?

Bocelli: "I guess so. I see it almost as marking the end of one part of my career and the start of another. I wanted to do a 'best of' before my 50th birthday (in September 2008) and moving onto other things. I've already got plenty of projects lined up for the next part of my career, such as a recording of 'Carmen' and a couple of other things that I'll talk about at a later date."

Q: Luciano Pavarotti played an important role in discovering you -- was he your mentor?

Bocelli: "I wouldn't say (that), as I was already fairly mature when I met him, but he played a key role in my career. He was the first important person to believe in me and introduced me to other important people. He helped open a lot of doors that might otherwise have remained shut."

Q: Do you see yourself as an heir to Pavarotti?