Renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli gave the historic ‘Music for Hope’ solo performance on Easter Sunday at the gothic Duomo, the historic cathedral of Milan, Italy.
Although the cathedral had no people in attendance, Bocelli's performance was watched via livestream on his YouTube channel by millions of people worldwide.
Bocelli sang well-loved classics such as Bach/Gounod’s Ave Maria and Mascagni’s Sancta Maria, accompanied only by the cathedral organist, Emanuele Vianelli, playing one of the world’s largest pipe organs.
Bocelli interpreted a moving, legendary rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’ in front of the cathedral, in the deserted square of Milan, where also the famous La Scala stands.
The performance, intended as a message of love, healing and hope to Italy and the world, brought people to pray together during the new coronavirus outbreak.
Milan is the capital of the Italian region of Lombardy, the hardest hit area of the country by the pandemic, with more than 9,000 deaths.
Churches in Italy remained closed on Easter Sunday and even the prayer and ‘Urbi et Orbi’ message by Pope Francis were streamed live via the internet.
