Like father, like son

Matteo Bocelli's first experiences as a tenor took place at the Teatro del Silenzio on July 30, 2016, where, in front of an audience of 12,000, he, along with artists, Italian baritone Leo Nucci and South Korean soprano Sumi Jo, performed arias from Verdi's operas.

In October 2018, Andrea Bocelli released his 16th album, Si. The tenor explains the title as "a celebration of love, family, faith, and hope". Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Josh Groban are among the guest performers in the album. The album also features his son, Matteo Bocelli, on the moving duet Fall On Me.

For Matteo Bocelli, the "defining moment" came when he and his father performed onstage during the first night of the 69th Sanremo Music Festival at Teatro Ariston on Feb 5, 2019 in Sanremo, Italy.

"That's when I realized this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," Matteo Bocelli recalls.

This was the place where Andrea Bocelli made his own debut in 1994, when he took part in the Sanremo Music Festival and won the "newcomers" category. In the same year, the tenor released his debut album, titled Il Mare Calmo Della Sera, the first gold disk of a whole series of prizes and awards.

Matteo Bocelli's music studies are coming to an end and he will graduate later this year. At the same time, he began to plan for a solo album.

"I think you'll be surprised, and I can't wait to see the reactions from my Chinese fans," he says. "The pandemic has really shown us how important music can be-to connect people that are separated, to uplift our souls and to give thanks for what we have. I would say my goal as a singer is to keep learning, to keep developing and to bring people together with music."