Army Bay superfan meets his opera hero

Renzo and Nicole at the concerts venue – an amphitheatre that was purpose-build for Andrea’s concerts in the Lajatico hillside in his hometown of Tuscany.

A trip to see opera singer Andrea Bocelli in Italy turned into a backstage meet-and-greet for four-year-old superfan Renzo Petersen from Army Bay.

Renzo has been legally blind since birth, so his mum, Nicole Smith, has made a point of playing him lots of music from a young age.

“He has always taken a shining to Andrea Bocelli,” Nicole says.

“So when I saw that he put on a special hometown performance every year in Tuscany, I thought ‘let’s do it’.”

Nicole decided that to make the trip worth the money, she would go all-out. She booked tickets to see Bocelli in an amphitheatre especially built for his concerts, seated four rows from the front.

She also contacted Bocelli’s management six months before the trip to see if there was any chance of meeting the star, who is also blind.

“His tour manager told us she couldn’t promise anything, but that she would be in touch.

The day before their rehearsal, we got a call saying to come along and meet him,” Nicole says.

Nicole and Renzo spent about 15 minutes with Bocelli. Nicole says he was amazed they came all the way from New Zealand to see him. For the next hour, Renzo and Nicole hung-out with Bocelli’s family and crew.

“Spending time with Bocelli’s eight year-old daughter and their dog was probably Renzo’s highlight.

She was on his level, so they got on really well.”

Nicole says the concert the next day was “phenomenal.”

“Renzo loved it, too. He sang along loudly and passionately the whole time.”

Renzo travels like a pro, having no issues striking up conversations with people and picking up new languages quickly.

“He learnt how to order mum a red wine, white wine, and bread,” Nicole laughs.

“I just want to teach him that just because he’s blind, it doesn’t mean he can’t adventure around. I think it’s working – he’s fearless.”