www.axs.com

By: Melanie Moccia

Published: September 1, 2016

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Valentine’s Day has long been a day of artificiality. It’s a contrived holiday, 24 hours of pressurized compulsive buying which results in poor decisions, where frenzied lovers end up shelling out dough for gifts that lack sentimental value, drooping flowers, and cheap chocolate. The point is that love should never be fenced-in to one day. Regardless of that consideration, though, Valentine’s Day remains a permanent fixture in our holiday calendar, and people still go to lengths to express their love every February. But instead of the usual showering of presents, why not do this upcoming Valentine’s Day correct and indulge in the rare beauty that is Andrea Bocelli’s voice?

On Feb. 14, 2017, the Italian classical recording artist will stop by Atlanta’s Infinite Energy Arena for a special Valentine’s Day engagement. Outside of his signature voice that has appeared numerous times in film and television, Bocelli’s accomplishments speak for themselves. The singer has sold more than 70 million albums (the most of any classical singer ever) and has earned him plaudits from other singers and contemporaries. All the while, Bocelli has enjoyed a long career and a vast discography that has led to his most recent album, 2015’s record of film soundtrack renditions, Cinema.

Bocelli’s concert on Valentine’s Day counts as one of the few shows U.S. shows he has scheduled next year, and promises to be a genuine spectacle of singing mastery that will live longer in the memory than any teddy bear.