Andrea Bocelli: Cinema Featuring Great Songs from the Silver Screen Unspools on THIRTEEN's Great Performances Friday, November 27 at 9 p.m. on PBS

NEW YORK, Sept. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The international superstar tenor lends his unique voice to a lush symphonic salute to the movies, Andrea Bocelli: Cinema, celebrating some of the greatest celluloid songs and scores of all time written by a varied range of Italian and Hollywood composers.  The concert special also reunites Bocelli with legendary music producer David Foster, whose first collaboration with the tenor was Foster's own Academy Award-nominated song "The Prayer," a duet with Celine Dion in 1999.

The songs in this new concert – many from Oscar-winning scores – are also featured on Bocelli's new album Cinema which will be released globally on October 23 on Sugar Music/Universal Music Group and Verve Music Group in the USA.  These cinematic songs are etched in the culture and hearts of several generations including epic theme songs featured in films such as "Doctor Zhivago," "Love Story," "The Godfather," "Life is Beautiful," "Il Postino," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and many more, as well as popular songs from stage musicals, immortalized by their film versions, such as "West Side Story" and "Evita." As a special bonus, there's a brand new song fashioned from the popular "Gladiator" score.

Hollywood luminaries John Travolta, Ryan O'Neal, Ali McGraw, and Andy Garcia join Bocelli onstage to speak about the films from which the songs derive.

The special airs on THIRTEEN"s Great Performances Friday, November 27 at 9 p.m. (check local listings) as part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival.

Bocelli has said he believes film music is "an exceptional artistic treasure trove." His legendary voice, backed by fresh arrangements, brings new life to some of the greatest musical masterpieces for film by legendary composers from Leonard Bernstein to Ennio Morricone.

Bocelli sings in five different languages (Italian, French, Spanish, English and Sicilian) and partners with Nicole Scherzinger on the epic musical anthem "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from "Evita."

Filmed at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland on September 18, the broadcast is tentatively scheduled to include:

Maria from "West Side Story"                                                                  
Lyrics by Leonard Bernstein - Stephen Sondheim                                                            
Music by Leonard Bernstein                                         

La Chanson De Lara from "Doctor Zhivago"                                      
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster                                                                
Music by Maurice Jarre                                                              
French Lyrics by Ithier Hubert                                                                      

Moon River from "Breakfast at Tiffany's"                                                            
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer                                                            
Music by Henry Mancini                                                                                                        

Be My Love from "The Toast of New Orleans"                                    
Lyrics by Sammy Cahn                                                                 
Music by Nicholas Brodszky                                                                                            

The Music of the Night from "The Phantom of the Opera"                            
Lyrics by Charles Hart -Richard Stilgoe                                                                
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber                                                                          

Brucia La Terra from "The Godfather"                                                  
Lyrics by Giuseppe Rinaldi                                                        
Music by Giovanni Rota                                                                     

Por Una Cabeza from "Scent of a Woman"                                                          
Lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera                                                            
Music by Carlos Gardel                                                                                                              

No Llores Por Mí Argentina duet with Nicole Scherzinger from "Evita"                                
Lyrics and Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber - Tim Rice                                                  
Spanish Lyrics by J.Carreras -I.Artime Granda - J.Azpilicuieta Perez        

L"amore È Una Cosa Meravigliosa from "Love is a Many Splendored Thing"     
Lyrics and Music by Paul Webster- Sammy Fain                                                               
Italian Lyrics by Alberto Curci                                                                       

Mi Mancherai from "Il Postino"                                                               
Lyrics by Marco Marinangeli                                                     
Music by Luis Bacalov - Riccardo Del Turco - Paolo Margheri   

Cheek to Cheek duet with Veronica Berti from "Top Hat"                                                            
Lyrics and Music by Irving Berlin                                                 

Sorridi Amore Vai from "La vita è bella"                                                              
Lyrics by Noa - Gil Dor                                                                 
Music by Nicola Piovani                                                              
Italian Lyrics by Roberto Benigni                                   

Historia De Amor from "Love Story"                                                     
Lyrics and Music by Francis Lai                                                              
Spanish Lyrics by Andy Williams                                                              

Nelle Tue Mani (Now We Are Free) from "Gladiator"                                                     
Music by Lisa Germaine Gerrard - Klaus Badelt - Hans Florian Zimmer
New song based on film score   

The concert was arranged for Bocelli's extraordinary voice by musical director David Foster.  Bocelli's prior Great Performances specials have consistently been some of PBS"s most popular concert performances, including Andrea Bocelli Live in Central Park and Andrea Bocelli: Love in Portofino.

With over 80 million albums sold worldwide, the acclaimed singer has been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His Central Park concert in 2011 joined the roster of the park's legendary live performances. And he has the honor of performing live in front of three United States presidents, three popes, and royal families all over the world.

Additional arrangements were composed by Humberto Gatica and Tony Renis, both of whom previously collaborated with David Foster on the Amore program.

Andrea Bocelli: Cinema was directed for television by David Horn. For Great Performances, Mitch Owgang is producer, Bill O'Donnell is series producer and David Horn is executive producer. 

Great Performances is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET, and is funded by the Anne Ray Charitable Trust, Irene Diamond Fund, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Rosalind P. Walter, The Agnes Varis Trust, The Starr Foundation, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, and PBS.

Visit Great Performances Online at www.pbs.org/gperf for additional information about this and other programs.

About WNET

As New York"s flagship public media provider and the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to over 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state's unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore App where users can stream PBS content for free.

About PBS Arts Fall Festival

Andrea Bocelli: Cinema on Great Performances is part of the fifth PBS Arts Fall Festival, an eight-week series hosted this fall by Grammy Award-winning international music superstar Gloria Estefan. Friday nights from October 9 to November 27, 2015, the Fall Festival features legendary artists, dazzling musical performances and captivating entertainment, including a UNITY Latin tribute to Michael Jackson's music, and complementary digital content. PBS Arts is a cornerstone of the Friday primetime lineup, reaching more than 15 million viewers last season and underscoring PBS" ongoing commitment to give audiences the best of the arts on-air and online. Most programs will be available online at http://video.pbs.org/ after their broadcast premiere. For more, visit http://pressroom.pbs.org/.

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