FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

(WASHINGTON, DC – November 20, 2002) Acclaimed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will perform during the next three Sunday evenings, November 24, December 1 and December 8 at 8 PM at Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands, NJ, the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit and First Union Center in Philadelphia, respectively as part of his North American Tour.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) will host private receptions immediately following Bocelli’s concerts for people who have purchased their premium concert tickets through the Foundation to benefit the NIAF/Bocelli Scholarship in Music. The NIAF has secured 100 of the best seats in the house, including select first row-seats at all three venues.

In October 2000, Andrea Bocelli received the National Italian American Foundation’s 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.

Andrea Bocelli has sold more than 20 million CDs worldwide since he entered the American music scene in 1997 with the release of his CD, 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 NIAF benefit concert and private reception package will sell for $700 per person, with the proceeds of $200 per person to benefit the NIAF Andrea Bocelli Scholarship. All seats are in the VIP section. A limited number of first row seats for $1,000 are available. The VIP tickets with post-concert reception will be sold on a “first-come, first-served basis.” For tickets, contact: Michael Sanzi at 202/387-0600202/387-0600 or michael@niaf.org or visit our web site at www.niaf.org