Andrea Bocelli remembers losing his vision while playing sports at 12

The documentary "Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe" debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on September 7. It delves into the life and career of the renowned Italian tenor, including in-depth discussions with Andrea Bocelli and his inner circle. The film highlights pivotal moments in his professional and personal life and focuses on his visual impairment.

"When I was a child, I was considered extremely short-sighted," says the singer in one of the scenes. "I could see everything, but up close. I remember very well the world I saw back then. The colors, the textures. Everything. How could I forget those memories?"

© Daniele Venturelli

The apparent myopia turned out to be more complex than initially thought. Alberto, the tenor's brother, disclosed that his 3-and-a-half-year-old brother Andrea had undergone 13 surgeries in Turin for congenital glaucoma. He described the experience as torturous.

"At the age of 7, Andrea was sent to a boarding school for visually impaired people, because no local school would accept him," Alberto reveals. "He only came home on holidays and during the school year, we would visit him once a month." 

The tenor reflects on the incident that caused him to become completely and permanently blind at 12. "While at boarding school, I was unexpectedly placed in the role of goalkeeper during a soccer game despite having no prior experience," he explains. "Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be the first and only time I would ever play as a goalkeeper. The ball struck me in the face, resulting in a hemorrhage... and the rest, as they say, is history," he concludes. 

In a previous interview, the singer's mother discussed her son's resilience following the accident, noting that both she and the singer rejected the notion of pity. She emphasized that they instilled principles of courage in him from a young age. The singer also acknowledged his mother's concerns about his ability to care for himself and credited her hard work for providing him with a sense of "peace and stability."

How Andrea Bocelli became one of the most famous music stars in the world

Cosima Spender's documentary delves into Andrea Bocelli's ascension to worldwide music stardom. The director aimed to track Bocelli's journey to success and his unwavering commitment to his art through a combination of interviews, archival footage of his performances, and informal gatherings, such as a celebratory party where Bocelli's inner circle fondly recollects the past over food and wine.

© Getty Images

"I suffered from stage fright for many years. A fear that cannot be expressed in words," the 65-year-old singer revealed in the documentary. "Uncontrollable anxiety. Terrible palpitations that did not leave me, not even on stage. They lasted throughout the concert, until the last song. This happened because my technique was not perfect," he says.

The singer credits meeting Luciano Pavarotti as the pivotal moment that changed everything. "When I rehearsed for the first time with this great artist, I realized that it was not difficult for him. That's when I realized that he had perfect technique and I didn't," he continues. "Today, thanks to the technical awareness I have acquired with great effort, I am emphasizing this with great effort and I no longer have that kind of anxiety," he says.

After the premiere, Bocelli took to social media to share his feelings. "You never get used to it, even after 30 years in the business… But I should've accustomed myself to the fact that the feedback you receive is more generous than you can imagine in your wildest dreams. I'm still constantly shocked by the outpouring of goodwill and affection aimed at me. And so, with a heart full of gratitude, I watched the warm reception the documentary about me, "Because I Believe," received at its debut at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival.

© Daniele Venturelli

He also thanked the director and his wife, Veronica. "As well as offering my most heartfelt thanks to the wonderful nation of Canada, which hosts this prestigious event; Lionsgate for financing the docufilm project; the incredible team who created it; the director Cosima Spender; and my wife Veronica, for her irreplaceable advice, and for being the director of my life and our family without ever touching a camera, I want to highlight why I accepted the offer to record my whole life to film without filters of any kind. The film's title sums it up perfectly: because I believe. In people, in our heavenly Father, and in the life that he has gifted to us. I believe in the power of love as the world's driving force, a love to which I have sought to bear witness through my music and through my existence."

That's the message behind the documentary, one which I, merely its humble emissary, hope will come through. If it manages to warm its viewers' hearts a little, make them smile, surprise them, and leave them with a little more faith in life, then I'll have achieved my goal, and I'll be a happy man," he concluded.