A second version of the song, sung partly in English, released in 1996 as "Time to Say Goodbye", paired Bocelli with British soprano Sarah Brightman, and achieved even greater success, topping charts all across Europe, including Germany, where it became the biggest-selling single in history.

[3] The song's original single release by Polydor Records was not commercially successful in Italy, and received minor radio airplay there.

Elsewhere it was a massive hit; in France and Switzerland, the single topped the charts for six weeks, earning a triple Gold sales award.

[4] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote about the song, "The Benelux triumph of poppy tenor Andrea Bocelli continues with this excellent seasonal anthem, which wisely leaves the singer’s classically trained voice in the spotlight.

"[5] After Sarah Brightman released her version, Larry Flick from Billboard stated that she "has one of the truly glorious voices in musical theater".

In Germany, East West Records, in conjunction with Polydor, marketed a lyrically changed version of "Con te partirò", retitled "Time to Say Goodbye", as the theme song for the final match of boxer Henry Maske (then the light-heavyweight champion of the International Boxing Federation), having seen previous success when Vangelis's "Conquest of Paradise" was also promoted via Maske's fights.

[25] The match took place on 23 November 1996, pitting Maske against American Virgil Hill, and drew a television broadcast audience of over 21 million.

[64] Chuck Taylor from Billboard wrote that the song is a "deliciously grand interpretation of the smash Andrea Bocelli/Sarah Brightman ballad "Time To Say Goodbye"-replete with romantic new lyrics.

He also added that she is "complemented by clubland hero Hex Hector's well-measured production, which couples melodramatic faux-classical string flourishes with time-sensitive dance beats.