Hope opera: Andrea Bocelli’s Milan concert breaks streaming record
Andrea Bocelli has smashed multiple records after his live-streamed solo performance from the deserted Duomo in Milan racked up millions of viewers worldwide.
The Italian tenor’s Music for Hope concert reached a peak of more than 2.8m live Youtube viewers on Easter Sunday, while the video received more than 28m views worldwide in the first 24 hours.
The figures make the performance the largest live-streamed classical music event of all time and one of the biggest online musical events in history.
Even before the performance began more than 1m viewers were in the online waiting room. The concert has now been viewed more than 35m times.
Bocelli, who was born with glaucoma and has been blind since the age of 12, has recorded 15 solo albums across pop and classical music and sold over 90m records worldwide.
During a special 30-minute broadcaster the iconic crooner, who was accompanied by organist Emanuele Vianelli, sang a selection of pieces specially arranged for the occasion.
This included the beloved Bach/Gounod setting of Ave Maria and Franck’s Panis Angelicus as well as Ave Maria, for which Bocelli made his way out of the cathedral into the deserted piazza.
“Music has the power to unite communities from around the world in the most unique and momentous ways,” said Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music.
“In such an unprecedented time, it’s critical we rally together and continue connecting through music. YouTube is honored to have played a role in making sure the world could come together, as one music family, to see, hear and listen to Andrea Bocelli’s performance on such a historic day in time.”
Main image credit: Luca Rossetti, courtesy Sugar SRL, Decca Records