Andrea Bocelli last performed at the Oscars exactly 25 years ago. In 1999, the celebrated tenor joined Celine Dion for a performance of the Oscar-nominated song, "The Prayer." "It was a quarter of a century ago, it's true, but the memory of that night at the Oscars, together with my dear friend and splendid artist, is still very fresh and vivid in my mind," Bocelli tells A.frame. "And I still feel the same emotions when I think about it."
"Céline was outstanding," he says. "Our duet had a chemistry that one rarely finds throughout an entire career."
During Sunday's 96th Oscars, Bocelli returned to the Oscars stage to deliver this year's In Memoriam performance, as the Academy paid tribute to the likes of Alan Arkin, Harry Belafonte, William Friedkin, Tina Turner, and more late artists and filmmakers who made an indelible impact on the world of cinema.
"I'm in a different season of my life now — an interesting season of mature age that is not without its surprises, although the positive ones are a bit fewer than the negative," Bocelli says. "My enthusiasm, however, and the will to woo beauty through art, which is an extraordinary gift from the heavens — the need to transmit positive emotions, giving a bit of serenity to those listening — are the same feelings I had back then."
"Even more so now, considering that I have returned to this spectacular night of the Oscars with someone the most dear to me: My son," adds the singer. "My voice will convey all the affection and gratitude I feel — both for the song (and for those who love or loved it), and for life (and for He who created it)."
Bocelli was joined onstage by his son, Matteo Bocelli, for a duet of "Time to Say Goodbye."
"Around the world, the Oscars is the crown jewel in terms of stages; being there is simply a dream come true!" Matteo Bocelli says. "I have already sung many times with my father, but the difference here lies in what we will be performing together. "Time to Say Goodbye" is not merely a song — it's the national anthem of my family. It's home. It's the voice and music of my father. It is the theme song of hundreds, maybe thousands of memories from my childhood to adulthood... Besides being a great honor and responsibility, it is a professional milestone — possibly even one of life's most defining moments."
"Time to Say Goodbye" is a reinvention of Bocelli's hit song, "Con te partirò." This new version arrives 30 years after the original and not only serves as a duet between the father and son, but also a collaboration with two-time Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, who adapted the song with a new orchestration.
"It's the song of my life; the pop piece that represents me the most throughout the world," says the elder Bocelli. "To revisit it, with our fortunate collaboration with Hans Zimmer, and sing it together with Matteo — who, in the meantime, has become my colleague — is an exciting challenge and great gift. It is a new debut that I anticipate with the same passion I had back then, perhaps with a bit more wisdom but always with the strength of the public's affection that has lasted so many years unchanged."
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