Andrea Bocelli will stream a special live concert at Duomo di Milano on Easter Sunday in a bid to send ‘love, healing and hope’ to Italy amid the COVID-19 crisis.
The Italian opera singer, 61, has been granted exclusive access to the currently closed Milan cathedral by the Archpriest, Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo, and Mayor, Giuseppe Sala.
Bocelli will only be accompanied by Duomo di Milano’s organist, Emanuele Vianelli, where he shall perform the likes of Ave Maria and Sancta Maria.
Easter: Andrea Bocelli will stream a special live concert at Duomo di Milano on Easter Sunday in a bid to send ‘love, healing and hope’ to Italy amid the COVID-19 crisis
The Milan cathedral is currently closed amid the pandemic but will exclusively open its doors for just Bocelli and organist Emanuel for the event hosted by Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo – a 600-year-old organisation which supervises the building.
The singer will be without an audience due to Italy’s lockdown and government regulations surrounding COVID-19 but the footage will be streamed live to his YouTube channel.
Talking about the incredible opportunity, Bocelli said: ‘On the day on which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs, I’m honoured and happy to answer “Sì” to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan.’
The opera singer added: ‘I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now.
Special access: The Italian opera singer, 61, has been granted exclusive access to the currently closed Milan cathedral (pictured) by the Archpriest, Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo, and Mayor, Giuseppe Sala
‘Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth’s pulsing heart, this wonderful international forge that is reason for Italian pride.
‘The generous, courageous, proactive Milan and the whole of Italy will be again, and very soon, a winning model, engine of a renaissance that we all hope for.
‘It will be a joy to witness it, in the Duomo, during the Easter celebration which evokes the mystery of birth and rebirth.’
Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, said: ‘I am happy Andrea has accepted our invitation. This year, Easter will be very different for all of us. The joyous serenity that usually comes with this day, has been greatly troubled by the pandemic we are experiencing.
Performance: Bocelli will only be accompanied by Duomo di Milano’s organist, Emanuele Vianelli, where he shall perform the likes of Ave Maria and Sancta Maria
‘I am sure that the extraordinary voice of Bocelli will be the embrace we are missing these days, a strong, special hug, capable of warming the heart of Milan, Italy and the world.’
Archpriest of Duomo di Milano, Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo, added: ‘Our ‘Hallelujah’ is an invitation that we placed in the ark forty days ago and that the flood, which has overwhelmed us all, almost made us forget the joy of expressing it on the day of Easter.
‘The voice and word of Andrea Bocelli reminds us that the reason for our hope does not come from us but it is a gift that comes from God.
Lockdown: The singer will be without an audience due to Italy’s lockdown and government regulations surrounding COVID-19 but the footage will be streamed live to his YouTube channel (police pictured outside the cathedral in Milan on Monday)
‘This is what it means to promote, from our Duomo – the home of the people of Milan – and through the voice of Bocelli, the confidence that the Spirit of the Risen Crucifix will help us shape the days granted to us in the Kingdom of the One who wanted a new humanity, united and fraternal.’
As well as the special concert, Bocelli is also currently fundraising with his Andrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF) on GoFundMe to raise money for hospitals to protect their medical staff with equipment during the COVID-19 emergency.
So far Italy has seen 15,887 deaths and 128,984 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Bocelli’s special live Easter concert will be available to stream on his YouTube channel from 6PM UK time.
Watch it: Bocelli’s special live Easter concert will be available to stream on his YouTube channel from 6PM UK time
