Like father, like son

The 21-year-old Matteo Bocelli showed strong artistic talent as a child and learned to play piano at the age of 6. As a teenager, his passion for music rivaled his love of sport and it was only in 2015 that he began to study singing under the guidance of his father. Currently, he is a student of vocal performance at the Lucca Conservatory.

"As a child, there was always music in the house. I sang in secret from a very young age-mainly to my mother. My father passed on his work ethic to me-you can overcome any barrier if you work hard and keep practicing. You have to be prepared to devote yourself to it," Matteo Bocelli says.

"Technically, our voices are very far from each other, because obviously he's a master and I'm a student. However, people say that there is a similarity-the attitude, and that's given by the nature and being always next to him, learning from him," Matteo Bocelli adds.

"I always admired those fathers who ran a family business and had the privilege of engaging their children. I thought this would be impossible in my case but life proved me wrong. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a great joy to be able to have my son next to me onstage," says Andrea Bocelli.

"I think that, in music, Matteo has that special something that you cannot learn, which is talent. But his determination, hard work and spirit of sacrifice will be just as important. He will develop his skills and attitudes in his own time and refine his artistic abilities," the father says.