Andrea Bocelli kicks off US tour Saturday in Las Vegas; talks about fatherhood

LONDON – Andrea Bocelli can’t get away from opera, even when he’s relaxing at home. His 2-year-old daughter, Virginia, prefers opera to traditional lullabies.

“My daughter … likes every kind of music, but in particular there is a song that she loves very much, ‘Funiculi Funicula,’” Bocelli said of the Neapolitan song, which he performs regularly at live shows. “She wants that I sing (it) for her always.”

Bocelli and his longtime companion, Veronica Berti, were married earlier this year on their daughter’s second birthday.

The 56-year-old, who’s been touring Europe, will launch his U.S. tour Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Stops on the tour will include Houston, Texas; Dallas; Chicago; and Detroit, with the final show at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec. 17.

Next year, he will perform three shows at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, in February, and has a concert planned at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 7, among other shows.

Bocelli, who makes an appearance on pianist Jan Mulder’s new album, “Christmas,” is promoting his “Opera — the Ultimate Collection” and a recording of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” with Ana Maria Martinez.

“I loved this opera since when I was a child,” Bocelli said of “Manon Lescaut.”

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Online:

http://www.andreabocelli.com/

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