Customer Rating: 
Summary: Confident yet Vulnerable
Comment: When he released 'Con te Partiro' in the U.S. in 1997, Andrea Bocelli became a household name for the soaring emotional piece that has become his best-known song. However, on 2001 album "Cieli di Toscana", the crossover artist treats listeners to 14 songs recorded with the voice that has captured the world.
Unlike many of his previous hit records, "Cieli di Toscana" is a pop album, but unlike
Madonna or
Britney Spears, it is filled with the soul and delicate emotion you would find in more classical music. The album opens with the rich-sounding 'Melodramma' then chills to a more relaxed feel with 'Mille Lune Mille Onde'. From this point on, the record switches from lavish orchestration to tunes that, if they weren't in Italian, could have been hits on U.S. radio.
As with his previous works, "Cieli di Toscana" shows Bocelli's progression and maturity as an artist. He sings with more confidence and emotion than before, but maintains the vulnerability that has made him so popular. This is perhaps best illustrated with 'L'Incontro', a song about the emotion a father feels upon the birth of his child. Opening with a reading of his poetry by Bono, the song is both tender and emotion-filled, yet very mature.
There are no large aria-like pieces, no 'Con te Partiro' type songs on this record, but that does not detract from the high quality of music featured here. As someone who is not an opera fan, this is the type of music that I enjoy most from Andrea Bocelli, the type of music that makes him that much more special.
