Opera singer performs from her balcony to lift spirits of neighbours in lockdown

An opera singer has taken to her balcony to entertain her neighbours with song during the coronavirus lockdown.

Singer Phoebe Haines sang classical renditions of Amazing Grace and You Raise Me Up on Wednesday evening from her home in London’s East Village.

Ms Haines said she hoped the performance would “brighten” her neighbours’ days as they are encouraged to stay at home.

“I thought it would be far more meaningful to sing this to an audience than to simply practise it alone in my flat,” she said.

Ms Haines said: “A week or so before the lockdown began, my friend, soprano Jessie Tse, and I had started to sing on the balcony, as we had heard that singers in Italy had been creating free concerts for their neighbours that way.

“The following week, it was actually my mum’s idea to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone. It is such an inspiring song and it means so much to so many different people.

“I had such a lovely warm response from the neighbours and I felt so happy to be able to add a bit of music to their day.

“Since the lockdown, I hope I can continue to use music in a way which brightens people’s days and gives back to my local community.”