FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

ANDREA BOCELLI CONCERT 

AT FT. LAUDERDALE’S NATIONAL CAR CENTER

    (WASHINGTON, DC- February 20, 2001) Acclaimed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform Thursday evening, March 22 at the National Car Rental Center in Ft. Lauderdale as part of his Spring 2001 North America Tour. The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) will host a private reception immediately following Bocelli’s concert for people who have purchased their premium concert tickets through the Foundation. The NIAF has secured 100 of some of the best seats in the house, including 40 first row-seats.

    In October 2000, Andrea Bocelli received the National Italian American Foundation’s Year 2000 U.S./Italy Friendship Award during the NIAF gala awards dinner in Washington, DC . President Clinton, Muhammad Ali and over 3,100 prominent Italians and Italian American leaders in business, sports, entertainment, the professions, and government attended the dinner. Bocelli also performed via satellite with the Boccherino Institute Youth Orchestra from Lucca, Italy during the NIAF gala in honor of the Foundation’s 25^th anniversary. Illness prevented Bocelli from accepting his award in person.

    Andrea Bocelli has sold more than 20 million records worldwide since he entered the American music scene in 1997 with the release of his album, Romanza and the single “Con Te Partirò” (Time To Say Goodbye). Romanza topped the charts in more than 13 countries and sold more than 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone during the first three months of its release.

    In 1999, Bocelli received his first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, while four of his albums charted simultaneously on the Billboard Top 200 chart, a feat achieved only twice in recent memory by Garth Brooks and U2. Last year also marked Bocelli’s American opera debut with the Detroit Opera Company. Today, millions of Americans continue to watch his PBS television specials and listen to his four platinum albums, Romanza, Aria, Sogno, and Sacred Arias. On September 12, 2000, his sixth album Verdi was released. Bocelli’s first complete opera recording, La Bohème, was released on November 7, 2000.

    The special NIAF concert tickets are being sold at their face value of $350 per person. NIAF VIP tickets and reception tickets will be sold on a “first-come, first-served basis.” For tickets, please contact: Lisa Pitocco at 202/387-0600 x 40.