The minimizing meant that even Bocelli’s son wasn’t present for the shoot, although he was attended, as always, by his wife, Veronica. But with a few special suggestions, we managed to do it very simply.”, The set list for the 25-minute performance was Bocelli’s choice, and he had a good start with the selection process, having sold 5 million copies worldwide of a 1999 album titled “Sacred Arias.”, Although YouTube isn’t used to seeing these kinds of numbers for a live-stream, Maverick had confidence the platform could withstand the demand. “For an event of this nature, that’s as bare-bones as it can be,” says Rodger. We find now that it’s hit 30 million views in less than 24 hours, which is incredible considering the kind of artist he is and the kind of audience that he has, the kind of repertoire that he performed — because it’s pure classical music — and the difficulty that we had in putting this together.”. … The idea touched everybody: Andrea himself, the mayor of Milan, the archpriest of the Duomo cathedral, Decca, UMG and Maverick management in a snowball effect. By Monday night the archived performance had 32 million views. “The mayor of Milan wanted to ask Andrea to do sort of a big prayer for all the Italian communities hit by the Covid,” says Francesco Pasquero, Maverick Management’s man in Milan, who co-manages Bocelli. We of course had to tell him the space that we were moving into, and where the mic was positioned. And the church itself echoed that sentiment. And the one that really hit me was, ‘This performance was the one that we will remember in 20 years (from) during these days.’ So it feels like a sort of living history.”, “Personally I’m not that religious,” says the singer’s American co-manager, Maverick partner Scott Rodger. Consider that Beyonce’s Coachella performance, a previous YouTube record-holder two years ago, had about a sixth of the viewers who tuned in live to Bocelli. See 3 tour dates featuring For a gig whose primary audiences might have been considered churchgoers or classical-goers, especially, demographic as well as spiritual transcendence seemed to be in play. Bocelli’s participation was pro bono. Andrea Bocelli ha annunciato Believe in Christmas, l'evento che verrà trasmesso in live streaming in tutto il mondo sabato 12 dicembre. The Central Time stream will be concurrent with the Pacific Time broadcast, at 10 p.m. CT. Tickets go on sale Nov. 20 through Ticketmaster; pricing has not yet been revealed. 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The square outside the empty cathedral was cleared, and only Bocelli and his lone organ accompanist went unmasked. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. “For an event of this nature, that’s as bare-bones as it can be,” says Rodger. The staggered start times aren’t the only thing different about the Christmas webcast than the one on Easter. The square outside the empty cathedral was cleared, and only Bocelli and his lone organ accompanist went unmasked. “Amazing Grace” took two takes to capture, because of an audio glitch the first time; everything else was in the moment. “In this unprecedented time, obviously there was no option to decide whether to have an audience or not,” says Rodger, “and I think it absolutely resonated to the public worldwide, especially with the footage that was edited in from (the streets of) London, Paris, New York and other cities around the world that were completely desolate and empty. It became a global tune-in event, of course, for a lot of people who viewed it as a substitute for church and a lot more who might never have darkened the door of one. By Monday night the archived performance had 32 million views. It’s made all the more remarkable considering that the ask from the mayor came in on March 20, and that, less than a month later, the six-camera shoot that went out to tens of millions of viewers was accomplished by an on-site skeleton crew of 15 people, the artist’s team included. “I did a live broadcast about 18 months ago with Paul McCartney at Grand Central Station,” says Rodger, “so I had full confidence in YouTube and their ability to take multi-millions of simultaneous viewers around the world without the platform crashing. But with a few special suggestions, we managed to do it very simply.”, The set list for the 25-minute performance was Bocelli’s choice, and he had a good start with the selection process, having sold 5 million copies worldwide of a 1999 album titled “Sacred Arias.”, Although YouTube isn’t used to seeing these kinds of numbers for a live-stream, Maverick had confidence the platform could withstand the demand. Clearly, it transcended religion, nationality, age demographic and even music preference on its way to becoming perhaps the signature cultural event of the pandemic. Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. The live-stream’s instigator, the mayor of Milan, came up with the idea with the intention of uplifting his home country, the one hardest hit in some of the critical weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. … I think they hoped it would be big, but they had no idea that it was going to be as big as it was.”. Bocelli’s label, Universal, is looking to release audio of the performance to streaming services, with an emphasis on “Amazing Grace,” which may be released independently as a music video augmented by behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot. Bocelli also duets on the album with Cecilia Bartoli and includes a previously unreleased collaboration with the late Ennio Morricone. 3927447 We of course had to tell him the space that we were moving into, and where the mic was positioned. … We overcame all hurdles of time zones and distance because everyone helped each other in a powerful joint effort to make it possible.”, Among the participants credited by Sugar for pulling off the event were Decca London’s Rebecca Allen and Laura Monks, Dickon Stainer from Universal’s global classical division,  Celine Joshua and Andrew Kronfeld in Universal Music’s L.A. office, Bocelli’s wife, Veronica, and Pasquero and the Maverick team, “but most importantly, YouTube for making it possible to show and share this celebration of life (and) this prayer for hope across all borders.”. “So this event got way beyond just the religious. “Andrea accepted the invitation, and then we started building the project, and it became bigger and bigger. After creating the biggest musical moment of the pandemic year with his record-breaking Easter Sunday livestream, Andrea Bocelli will be staying in a holiday streaming spirit with a followup event, “Believe in Christmas.” The singer will perform from the Teatro Regio di Parma opera house in Italy on December 12, with different streaming kickoff times staggered to prime time in regions around the world. Nearly 3 million people around the world logged on to YouTube to view the half-hour sacred music concert as it was happening. Hitting multiple generations across platforms is something you hope for when you aim big, but this way, way, way surpassed everything we hoped we could achieve.”. In the U.S., the concert will stream at 8 p.m. in both east and west coast time zones. Filippo Sugar, president of Sugar Music, said in a statement, “In the midst of all the grief and suffering that my city, my region, my country was experiencing at the beginning of March, I began thinking about this idea of ‘Music for Hope’ because I instinctively felt that the spirit of renewal and rebirth that is celebrated on Easter Day would be more necessary and meaningful than ever this year. “He perfectly knows how to use all his other senses, and he’s very independent in that sense. The live-stream’s i… The event was produced by Sugar Music, Universal Music Group and Decca Records, with a contribution from YouTube. The video received more than 28 million views from across the globe in its first 24 hours and is one of the biggest musical live stream performances of all-time. The live-stream’s instigator, the mayor of Milan, came up with the idea with the intention of uplifting his home country, the one hardest hit in some of the critical weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. “Believe in Christmas” is being offered as a pay-per-view, so it won’t approach the mammoth numbers that the Easter “Music for Hope” performance from the Duomo cathedral in Milan did. When Andrea Bocelli’s Easter performance at Duomo di Milan was first conceived, it was being thought of primarily as a local event — or localized to Italy, at least. In possession of one of the finest voices in the world, Bocelli emerged as a vocal phenomenon in the 1990s and has since gone on to become one of the most successful artists of all time, selling over 90 million albums worldwide. Clearly, it transcended religion, nationality, age demographic and even music preference on its way to becoming perhaps the signature cultural event of the pandemic. It became a global tune-in event, of course, for a lot of people who viewed it as a substitute for church and a lot more who might never have darkened the door of one. Filippo Sugar, president of Sugar Music, said in a statement, “In the midst of all the grief and suffering that my city, my region, my country was experiencing at the beginning of March, I began thinking about this idea of ‘Music for Hope’ because I instinctively felt that the spirit of renewal and rebirth that is celebrated on Easter Day would be more necessary and meaningful than ever this year. Hitting multiple generations across platforms is something you hope for when you aim big, but this way, way, way surpassed everything we hoped we could achieve.”. For anyone wondering just how live the shoot was: The majority of the performance from inside the cathedral did go out in real time, shortly after 7 p.m. in Italy and 1 p.m. on America’s east coast. “So this event got way beyond just the religious. Bocelli's Easter concert at Duomo di Milano was one of the biggest musical livestream performances of all-time, especially among those starring a classical singer. It’s made all the more remarkable considering that the ask from the mayor came in on March 20, and that, less than a month later, the six-camera shoot that went out to tens of millions of viewers was accomplished by an on-site skeleton crew of 15 people, the artist’s team included. Having the blind singer walk alone from the front door of the cathedral to a microphone positioned some distance away for that finale may have surprised some viewers, but it wasn’t a stunt. Pasquero, who was on-site, said that typically the number of crew on hand for such a shoot would have been at least tripled. … The idea touched everybody: Andrea himself, the mayor of Milan, the archpriest of the Duomo cathedral, Decca, UMG and Maverick management in a snowball effect. “He perfectly knows how to use all his other senses, and he’s very independent in that sense. Bocelli’s label, Universal, is looking to release audio of the performance to streaming services, with an emphasis on “Amazing Grace,” which may be released independently as a music video augmented by behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot. The live-stream’s i… “Andrea is that kind of person that is pretty used to moving by himself,” says Pasquero. 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Variety and the Flying V logos are trademarks of Variety Media, LLC. Consider that Beyonce’s Coachella performance, a previous YouTube record-holder two years ago, had about a sixth of the viewers who tuned in live to Bocelli. And the church itself echoed that sentiment. … I think they hoped it would be big, but they had no idea that it was going to be as big as it was.”. After creating the biggest musical moment of the pandemic year with his record-breaking Easter Sunday livestream, Andrea Bocelli will be staying in a holiday streaming … The Christmas performance looks to be more elaborate than the stark staging of Bocelli’s Easter performance, with Franco Dragone, of Cirque Du Soleil fame, signed on as creative director. “Amazing Grace” took two takes to capture, because of an audio glitch the first time; everything else was in the moment. UK registered company no. © Copyright 2020 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. When Andrea Bocelli’s Easter performance at Duomo di Milan was first conceived, it was being thought of primarily as a local event — or localized to Italy, at least. Andrea Bocelli will play an exclusive global livestream event, Believe in Christmas, from the spectacular Teatro Regio di Parma opera house in Italy on 12 December. The event was produced by Sugar Music, Universal Music Group and Decca Records, with a contribution from YouTube. Andrea Bocelli, Ents24 Ltd, Technology House, 16-18 Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2LG © Copyright 2020 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media, LLC. The only segment that was recorded before the live-stream began was the climactic rendition of “Amazing Grace” on the steps outside the cathedral — as anyone who wondered how Bocelli could have sprinted from the altar to the front door of one of the five largest churches in the world might have guessed. And we definitely hit people who are not necessarily that into classical music as their first go-to. And the one that really hit me was, ‘This performance was the one that we will remember in 20 years (from) during these days.’ So it feels like a sort of living history.”, “Personally I’m not that religious,” says the singer’s American co-manager, Maverick partner Scott Rodger. Bocelli is the singular, superb voice that opera had been waiting for. The intention for the tone of the show was that it would provide hope and solidarity… but also feel as lonesome as a show taking place without an audience in one of the biggest possible venues in the world would necessarily have to.