Andrea Bocelli sings ‘Silent Night’ in an empty cave, in haunting duet with his own echo

23 December 2020, 10:43 | Updated: 19 May 2021, 22:18

An empty, icicled cave is the concert stage for this haunting solo offering from star tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Amid the stalactites and stalagmites of the Frasassi Caves in Italy, Andrea Bocelli serenaded us all with an exquisite ‘Silent Night’.

The Italian tenor’s performance came from his online concert ‘Silent Night: A Christmas Prayer’, which streamed on Facebook Live on Friday 18 December.

During the concert stream, described as an “intimate and unique Christmas performance in a magical and unique location”, Bocelli also sang a wonderful ‘White Christmas’ with piano backing.

We also heard Italian Christmas carol ‘Caro Gesù Bambino’, as well as songs ‘Pianissimo’ and ‘Dolce Sentire’ from his new album, Believe.

Read more: Andrea Bocelli sings ‘Hallelujah’ with his daughter in stunning new duet >

Andrea Bocelli - Silent Night (a cappella version)

Dressed in full black tie, the tenor serenaded his virtual audience a cappella, sprinkling some typical Bocelli magic onto the Christmas standards with a key change here and there, giving us a taste of his spine-tingling upper range.

There’s something deeply moving in the sound of his solo vocals resonating through the empty, echoing cave, as many people around the world are still isolating or unable to be with families.

During the stream Bocelli took a short break from singing, to recite a poem while guest artist Brittany O’Connor danced through the caves.

Translated from Italian, the poem begins: “Man! How small you are in the presence of Him who wanted you to be made for the light.”

The magical concert follows a ticketed online event from Bocelli, ‘Believe in Christmas’, which featured a beautiful new duet on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ with his eight-year-old daughter, Virginia Bocelli.