Andrea Bocelli's mesmerising performance in empty Milan cathedral

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli gave a mesmerising performance outside Milan's empty Duomo on Easter Sunday, hoping to bring together people isolated during the coronavirus lockdown in a livestreamed broadcast that went viral on social media. Bocelli said he had been asked by Lady Gaga to join other musicians livestreaming to try to inspire a sense of hope. "Mine will be a song that wants to be a prayer and wants to ask everyone listening to join in this prayer with me," he said. Instead of a crowd in the pews, Bocelli's performance was watched via livestream on his YouTube channel. Accompanied only by the cathedral's organist Emanuele Vianello, the Italian opera singer's set included classic songs such as "Ave Maria" and "Amazing Grace." Bocelli, whose personal foundation helps people struggling with poverty and illiteracy, said that like everyone else he was worried and uncertain about the future of a world turned on its head by the coronavirus.