Andrea Bocelli Calls Singing New Holiday Album with Kids Matteo and Virginia 'The Best Christmas Gift'
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Courtesy Andrea Bocelli
For Andrea Bocelli's family, Christmas has always been a special time filled with many traditions — attending morning mass, opening gifts and enjoying classic Italian food like tortellini soup and panettone.
"We love traditions, and especially ones that warm the heart," the operatic tenor, 64, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue.
This year, the family is celebrating with a brand-new holiday album titled A Family Christmas, out now, featuring two of Andrea's children, Matteo, 25, and Virginia, 10, the latter of whom is singing with her father on a full-length project for the first time. "It was all the family. That was really exciting to me — and I hope for them, too," she gushes.
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Courtesy The Bocelli family
"We really wanted to make an album that truly reflected us, to recreate a mood, that magical state of mind that Holy Christmas is able to instill in us," explains Andrea, who's also dad to son Amos, 27, an engineer and musician who contributed his piano skills to the record. "I hope that the serenity and joy that constantly marked each moment of our work together comes through in every note sung."
Matteo began performing alongside his father in 2016, but Virginia — who's been singing since before she could speak — only made her public musical debut last year. Initially, she felt scared at the prospect of singing for large audiences. But thanks to advice from the seasoned musicians in her family, she's continuously growing more confident in her abilities.
"My dad taught me how to use my voice, and that influenced my life," says Virginia. "And Matteo told me, 'You should sing and do everything with no regret.'"
Featuring modern songs like "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and traditional carols like "The First Noel," the 13-track project strikes a different tone than Andrea's first holiday album, My Christmas, which has sold millions of copies in the United States since its 2009 release.
"[My Christmas] was an amazing project he did with David Foster," says Matteo, noting that taking part in the follow-up was a "fear" at first. Virginia agrees: "It's kind of nerve-racking to go after his first album. But then again, it's not like you have to be better. You have to do what you think is best — and try to do your best."
For the young performer, recording the album took quite a bit of work, as she didn't know many of its songs beforehand. "I only knew 'Feliz Navidad,' so at the beginning I was kind of confused," Virginia admits. "But 'Away in a Manger,' I had a spark from the beginning. I heard the Carrie Underwood version and the Polar Express one, which I knew from watching the movie when I was a little kid."
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According to Andrea, who expresses immense pride in both performers' skill sets, she did a great job learning the track. "In this album, Matteo gives an unedited rendition of his intimate and reflective vocal talent," he says. "Virginia, instead, is the true embodiment of music as experienced through the eyes of a child, as pure joy. And when she sings 'Away in a Manger,' she sounds like a true angel!"
Suzan Moore/PA Images/Getty Virginia, Matteo and Andrea Bocelli
It's especially sentimental for the family to release a holiday album this year, as they're coming up on the first Christmas to be spent without Andrea's mother, Edi, who died earlier this year.
"We will remember her with affection and gratitude, and our thoughts will go out to this extraordinary woman, so loved and so generous," says Andrea. "We will celebrate her together with our loved ones and toast to the memory of a generation that has left us."
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Ahead of holiday gatherings at the Bocelli family's new countryside home in Andrea's hometown of Lajatico, the trio will embark on a world tour in support of A Family Christmas. "We're super happy to be all over the world," says Matteo.
"Having part of my family by my side on stage will be an extraordinary experience," adds Andrea. "The best Christmas gift I could ever receive."
