[imagesource: Getty]

Andrea Bocelli was invited by the City of Milan and the Duomo Cathedral, to give a solo performance representing a message of “love, healing and hope” to Italy and the world.

The cathedral is closed to the general public, but Bocelli and organist Emanuele Vianelli were granted access to the building by Archpriest Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo and Mayor Giuseppe Sala.

The concert was streamed live around the world, with well over 32 million people tuning in to watch him sing. He opened with ‘Panis Angelicus’, followed by ‘Ave Maria’.

Italy has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and music became a big part of how its citizens coped with the devastation. Ave Maria contains the line “now in the hour of our death, pray for us”, so it’s a fitting and chilling tribute to the more than 20 000 people who have died there.

Per DEADLINE, here’s Bocelli on the concert:

“On the day in which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs, I’m honored and happy to answer ‘Sì’ to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan,” Bocelli said of the Easter Sunday event. “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.”

If you missed it, here he is:

[source:deadline]