After shattering YouTube records with his Easter livestream, Andrea Bocelli is now getting ready for another big concert during the pandemic.
On Dec. 12, Bocelli will perform a holiday recital called “Believe in Christmas,” Variety reported. The special event comes eight months after the Italian tenor sang “Amazing Grace” in front of the historic Duomo Cathedral on Easter Sunday — a performance that generated more than 28 million views worldwide in its first 24 hours.
“I will never forget the moment I was alone in that huge (cathedral) square, to sing for so many people so far way,” Bocelli recently told USA Today. “My goal was to pray for the world, for my family and for me.”
Bocelli, who contracted COVID-19 back in March, has remained musically active during the pandemic. A week after his Easter recital, he joined Lady Gaga’s “One World: Together at Home” — a virtual music festival that raised nearly $128 million for COVID-19 relief, the Deseret News reported.
Unlike the Easter recital, though, “Believe in Christmas” is a ticketed event that will not be available to view after it has taken place, Variety reported. The concert has staggered starting times to accommodate Bocelli’s global audience (it will air at 9 p.m. MT), and viewers can choose any time zone to watch in, regardless of location. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.
The concert coincides with Bocelli’s latest album “Believe,” which came out Nov. 13. The album includes a duet of “Amazing Grace” with country-bluegrass star Allison Krauss and a rendition of the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah.”
“The concept behind ‘Believe’ is based on three words: faith, hope and charity,” Bocelli said in a statement. “These are the three theological virtues of Christianity, yet — quite independently of any religious belief — they are also the three extraordinary keys to giving meaning and completeness to the lives of every one of us.”
Performing from Italy’s Teatro Regio di Parma opera house, Bocelli will sing a number of songs from the new album and some of his Christmas favorites for “Believe in Christmas,” according to a post on the tenor’s Facebook page.
Bocelli will also perform “Silent Night” for the “Disney Holiday Singalong” on Nov. 30, according to the Deseret News.