Observing Easter in the midst of a global pandemic will be challenging to say the least, as Christians the world over will celebrate the Resurrection of Christ from their sequestration. While separated from our families and local church communities, we will look to worship broadcasts and social media forums for support and hope, but now there’s another reason to be hopeful: Andrea Bocelli will give a solo performance on Easter Sunday.
Called “Music For Hope,” the concert will be live-streamed on YouTube for all the world to enjoy. Andrea Bocelli will perform at Milan’s Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of St. Mary, better known as the Duomo di Milano or simply the Duomo. In a press release, Bocelli explained that he was invited to perform by the mayor of Milan, saying:
“On the day on 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.”
As the orders for isolation still stand, there will be no audience present in the cathedral for the concert, which could bring new acoustics to the esteemed church. Instead, the audience will be gathered around their computers and smart TVs, where anyone with internet access can enjoy the free concert streamed on YouTube.
and fans can even set YouTube to give them a reminder before the concert starts on Sunday.Monsignor Gianantonio Borgonovo, Archpriest of the Duomo of Milan, said in the press release:
“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. 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.”
The concert, which is intended to offer a message of “love, healing, and hope to Italy and the world,” will begin at 6 p.m. UK time, 1 p.m. EDT. Bocelli will perform without an orchestra or supporting chorus, but instead he will be accompanied by just one organist, Emanuele Vianelli, who will perform on the Duomo’s pipe organ, one of the largest in the world.
Bocelli is performing the concert as an act of charity and will participate in the concert completely pro bono. The concert, which is promoted by the City of Milan and the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, is produced by Sugar Music and Universal Music Group, with generous contributions from YouTube.
Bocelli’s world-renowned voice is sure to soothe our troubled minds and keep them focused on Easter, but this concert is not the only way in which the talented tenor is helping during this time of world crisis. The Andrea Bocelli Foundation is currently holding a fundraiser to help hospitals purchase all the equipment necessary to protect their medical staff. Learn more here.
In a final statement, Bocelli said:
“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. 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.”
And today we celebrate...