Roots in the Desert

If Frank Sinatra provided the soundtrack for the golden age of the Strip, it's safe to say Andrea Bocelli is the voice of the modern era.

The Italian tenor's popularity in the United States went hand in hand with the opening of Bellagio in October 1998.

"The fountains speak with my voice. Strange, no?" says the classical singer who performs Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.

Bocelli's signature rendition of "Con Te Partiro" already was catching on in the United States when it was tapped for a series of TV ads promoting the $1.6 billion resort.

The song's elegance sent an instant message that Bellagio would raise the bar for Las Vegas casinos and take the Strip in a new direction. It didn't hurt Bocelli either; hotel operators fielded callers wanting to know who was the voice behind the spots.

Bocelli since has become a frequent Las Vegas performer. The singer, who was blinded in a soccer accident at age 12, used the Lake Las Vegas resort as the backdrop for his "Under the Desert Sky" concert for PBS and a DVD last year.

"I have roots already. It's like my second house, no?" says Bocelli, who has a translator for his telephone interviews but answers most of the questions in English.

And his song still is used in the Bellagio fountain show.

"The first time when I heard it, it was strange for me, but I like it," he says. "Sometimes, I have my children (two sons) with me. They will try to listen to their father in some strange situation."

Bocelli is celebrating the 10-year mark of his U.S. breakthrough with the seven-city tour that begins here and a best-of CD compilation, "Vivere."

The singer says it's also an appropriate year to reflect because "Next year I will be 50 years old and something will be different."

Did he choose the selections for the retrospective himself?

"I say always that the audience decides the titles," he says. "These are the songs people loved more."

The disc tracks his career from the title song of his 1994 debut album, "Il Mare Calmo Della Sera" -- originally ignored in the United States -- to the four new songs recorded under the helm of producer David Foster. The CD booklet credits some of the new recording to the studio at the Palms, but Bocelli says all the vocals were done at his home studio in his native Tuscany.

Ten years in the career of a pop singer or band usually will track notable changes along the way. But when the goal is to have a timeless voice and classical sound, are there changes only Bocelli can hear?

"That is difficult to answer," he says. "My opinion is that I am the same person, my voice is the same. But probably people can feel the difference. Probably there are differences because we change, but probably (I am) not able to realize this."

In September, Bocelli sang at the funeral of Luciano Pavarotti, who boosted the young Bocelli's career in 1992. Italian pop-rock star Zucchero used the young law student for a temp vocal on a recording he hoped Pavarotti would do. Pavarotti was so impressed, he invited the young singer to perform on a high-profile charity concert.

"It was very sad of course," Bocelli says of Pavarotti's death. However, "We have the best that he has done in his career, all his recordings. His voice is so familiar that when I go listen to him, it's like to be next to him."

Bocelli is now arguably the world's best-known operatic singer. But, he says, "I don't think there's any way to fill someone else's shoes. I will do my best, but I will be nothing else (but me)."

Bocelli considers himself fortunate that success came relatively late, when he was in his early 30s. "When I reached the success, my brain was ready, my voice was ready. When success arrives too soon it's dangerous."

He and Celine Dion recently reprised their landmark 1998 duet "The Prayer" in a concert filmed for British TV. Without doubt, any Las Vegas casino would roll out the carpet if Bocelli would consider a Dion-style residency. But he begs off.

"For me it would be difficult because I have a family in Tuscany. I can't stay for long periods of time," he says. "The problem is that I go around the world and the world is big and I am only one. I have to share myself between many, many places. And then find some moments for me, for my family, for the holiday -- or I risk singing badly."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0288.