In January 2001 , Bocelli portrayed the main character in Mascagni 's opera '' L'amico Fritz '' at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona and again performed the tenor part in Verdi 's '' Requiem '' . On 19 March , the '' Requiem '' album was released with Bocelli as tenor . From 22 March to 6 April , he toured North America accompanied by Cecilia Gasdia and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra . On 17 June , he performed at the re-opening of the Leaning Tower of Pisa . In July , he performed two concerts in Dublin with Ana María Martínez and the New Symphony Orchestra . At the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice on 4 October , he presented his new album '' Cieli di Toscana '' and was recognised for having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide . In October , he opened the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Sicilian opera composer Vincenzo Bellini in Catania . On 28 October , he sang Franz Schubert 's '' Ellens dritter Gesang '' ( also known as " Ave Maria " , Latin for " Hail Mary " ) as a representative of the Roman Catholic faith , during a memorial concert at Ground Zero in New York City for the victims of the September 11 attacks there . In November , he received the Platinum Europe Award for one million sales of the album '' Cieli di Toscana '' , and at the Italian Music Awards he was given a special award from the Federation of the Italian Music Industry for his merits as an " Ambassador of Italian music in the world " . He performed seven more concerts in the US accompanied by Ana María Martínez , and on 23 December , he sang the Italian national anthem as well as works of Bellini and Verdi at the traditional Christmas concert in the Italian Senate , which was broadcast live on television for the first time
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Andrea Bocelli