Andrea Boccelli Confirms COVID-19 Diagnosis and Recovery

Renowned tenor Andrea Boccelli revealed today that he tested positive for novel coronavirus COVID-19 in March and has since made a "full and swift recovery."

The singer was diagnosed as the pandemic first began but did not reveal his condition "out of respect for those for whom contracting the virus has had more serious consequences" and to avoid alarming fans and breaching the privacy of family members who had also contracted the virus.

He posted a message on his Facebook earlier revealing the news:

In 1994 Andrea Bocelli exploded onto the world stage with the hit song "Time to Say Goodbye," topping charts all across the world. In 1999, his nomination for Best New Artist at the GRAMMY AWARDS marked the first time a classical artist had been nominated in the category, since 1961. "The Prayer," his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film, "The Quest for Camelot," won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category.

With the release of his classical album, "Sacred Arias," Bocelli captured a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records, as he simultaneously held the top three positions on the U.S. classical albums charts. Five of his albums have since reached the Top 10 on the Billboard 200, and record-setting seven, have topped the classical albums charts in the United States.

In 2006, Bocelli was made a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and on March 2, 2010, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has been a guest at New York City's historic Carnegie Hall, and this past February, made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House. He is widely regarded as the most popular Italian and classical singer in the world.

A completely new hardcover translation of Bocelli's memoir, Andrea Bocelli: The Music of Silence, will be published by Amadeus Press in September.