Andrea Bocelli receives star on Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo: Wiki Commons

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, the best-selling classical musician of all time, said, writing in the Daily Mail on Sunday, that of all the stops in a long career of world tours, Israel was one of his favorites.

“Places in the world I have especially enjoyed include Israel, which left a very powerful impression on me,” he wrote in the Mail ahead of the release this week of his latest album, “Love In Portofino.”

Last year, he also confessed his love of Israel to the UK Telegraph. “A country that has really resonated with me and I was really impressed with was Israel. I found that the whole country had a very special atmosphere. I was there to perform but it was one of the few places that I’ve visited over the years that I had some free time to explore, and I was hugely impressed by all the religious history there,” he said at the time.

Bocelli visited Israel in 2011 performing at Masada in collaboration with members of the Rishon Lezion Symphonic Orchestra and the opera choir. Prior to that he visited the Jewish state in 2008 as part of a celebration for President Shimon Peres’s birthday.

Bocelli write in the Daily Mail that touring takes up lots of his time. “Unfortunately, when I’m performing, the schedule usually takes me from the hotel to the concert hall and then to the airport. If I made more time when I’m abroad, it would mean spending less time at home with my family. And my family is the most important thing to me,” he said.

“My favorite concert is the one I do every year in the Teatro del Silenzio (Theatre of Silence), an open-air amphitheater situated in Lajatico, my home town. The theater hosts a concert by me once every July and lies silent the rest of the year. I perform here with special guests and it’s a wonderful occasion. Come to Tuscany for its beauty, but come next year and enjoy my music too,” he enthused.

Bocelli, who was born with glaucoma and lost his sight at the age of 12, has won fans across the globe and has sold over 80 million albums worldwide.