Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, one of the world's most famous tenors, will perform a concert at the empty Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy on Easter night, which will be livestreamed on YouTube, conveying messages of love, hope and healing to global audiences amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

The concert will be audience-free as the iconic landmark in the Italian fashion capital, like most churches across Europe, will be closed to the public due to the pandemic this Easter.

Bocelli will give a solo performance, accompanied only by the cathedral organist, Emanuele Vianelli, who is playing one of world's largest pipe organs, presenting a repertoire of sacred works, such as Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" and Pietro Mascagni's "Sancta Maria."

The concert, titled "Bocelli: Music for Hope," will be synchronously streamed on Bocelli's YouTube channel at 7 p.m. in Italy (5 p.m. GMT) on Sunday, April 12.

Bocelli said in a statement that he was "honored and happy to answer 'Si' to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan." 

"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," said the famed tenor.

"Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth's pulsing heart,"  he added.

Italy, which remains in lockdown, has suffered the world's highest death toll from COVID-19.

As of Monday, it has reported 16,523 deaths and almost 133,000 infections. Milan and the surrounding Lombardy region have been the hardest hit by the pandemic.

"This year, Easter will be very different for all of us," said Giuseppe Sala, mayor of Milan, adding: "I am sure that the extraordinary voice of Bocelli will be the embrace we are missing these days, a strong, special hug, capable of warming the heart of Milan, Italy and the world."