Bocelli Sings at Met _ for Practice

NEW YORK – Andrea Bocelli made it to the Metropolitan Opera – to test out the acoustics.

The blind tenor, who is friends with Met general manager Peter Gelb, sang some Italian art songs on the main stage on Nov. 2, Met assistant manager Elena Park said Friday. While the Met isn’t looking to cast Bocelli in an opera, he could sing an out-of-season piano recital, Park said.

Bocelli, 49, has had a successful career as a pop singer, but he has received mostly negative reviews for his work in classical music, with many critics writing his unamplified voice is thin and doesn’t carry. He made his North American opera debut in 1999 in Massenet’s “Werther” at the Detroit Opera House, and sang in September at Luciano Pavarotti’s funeral in Modena, Italy.

He has recorded six full operas: “Werther;” Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci;” Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana;” Puccini’s “La Boheme” and “Tosca” and Verdi’s “Il Trovatore.”