Andrea Bocelli [ tickets ] will celebrate his 50th birthday with a new album and a short trip to the US.

The Italian pop/opera star has booked two-night stands in Washington, DC, and San Antonio, TX, in late November. He'll make his debut at the Washington National Opera performing Rossini's "Petite Messe Solennelle" with conductor by Placido Domingo, and he'll perform a concert version of the opera "Cavalleria Rusticana" at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium. Dates are listed below.

Bocelli's forthcoming album, "Incanto," comprises 14 classic Italian love songs including "Because," "Mamma," "Granada," "Funiculi Funicula" and "Un Amore Cosi Grande."

"All these tunes are classics, because they're masterpieces," Bocelli said in a statement. "Pop singers as well as operatic tenors have measured themselves against this repertoire ... What I wanted was to make an album of all the songs I remember from my earliest childhood, the music of my roots."

The set, due Nov. 11, includes a bonus DVD with exclusive documentary footage including an interview with Bocelli filmed in Naples.

Earlier this year, the tenor released "Vivere Live in Tuscany," a two-disc effort featuring all of his best-known tunes and guest appearances by Kenny G, Chris Botti and Sarah Brightman, to name a few. The set, offered on CD and DVD, captures a performance in Bocelli's hometown of Lajatico, a rural village in Tuscany.

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