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Andrea Bocelli

Opera superstar Andrea Bocelli is donating his plasma to coronavirus cure researchers after winning a secret battle with COVID-19.

The blind Italian tenor reveals he and his wife, actress Veronica Berti, and their children all tested positive for the virus in early March, although their symptoms were relatively mild.

Bocelli opened up about the health battle on Tuesday while visiting a hospital in Pisa, where he and Berti donated their blood to medical experts.

According to translated quotes from local paper La Stampa, the 61 year old told reporters, "I had coronavirus.

"It was a tragedy, my whole family was contaminated. We all had a fever - though thankfully not high ones - with sneezing and coughing."

The singer, who had to scrap a series of concerts as a result of the global pandemic, went on to brand the experience a "nightmare."

He continued, "It was like living a nightmare because I felt like I was no longer in control of things. I was hoping to wake up at any moment."

Bocelli managed to overcome the coronavirus in time to stage a historic Easter Sunday performance at the deserted Duomo di Milano, dubbed the Music for Hope concert.

The livestreamed event set a new record for the largest simultaneous audience for a classical livestream in YouTube's history, with over 2.8 million peak concurrent viewers.