The world has a few well-known blind musicians. Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, and now … Andrea Bocelli. It seems that you don’t need all five senses to play legendary music – even if they seem essential to the task. In fact, did you know Beethoven was deaf?

The key common factor between all these artists is that they never let their disadvantages hold them back in life, Bocelli included. According to him, you don’t need to see the music on the page to belt it out as one of the most famous opera tenors in the world. While part of his success is due to his relentless training, growing up in Italy, where many famous operas were written, played a role too.

Early Years and Law School

A singing partner once said that he “had the honor to sing with the most beautiful voice in the world,” after getting a chance to work with Andrea. But Andrea wasn’t always using his voice as his main form of employment. While he’s not practicing, Bocelli has both an undergraduate and a Doctorate of Law degree under his belt. If he ever decides to retire, we know where he can turn for employment!

It was during his pursuit of those degrees that he decided his handicap would no longer hold him back from a musical career. And such, he studied with famous tenor Franco Corelli and performed around his campus in small bars and restaurants. His training took years and didn’t indeed pay off until 1992 when he auditioned for Miserere, which his mentor co-wrote. After landing that role, it seemed he got world-famous almost overnight.

World-Wide Fame

Between 1994 and 1999, Andrea put out five albums. They all did well, but his fifth was the most successful to date. It featured Celine Dion and won him a Golden Globe and a Grammy within the same year. Since then, every musical thing the man with the golden voice touched has turned to gold, including the hearts of his fans during his musical performances.