Classical Crossover Vocal Duo Belle Voci premiered a benefit concert for WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund live on YouTube on March 26th. Emily & Sophie who’s motto is “Opera for Everyone” were introduced to the British public through the blind audition round on “The Voice”. They have continued to be highly in demand in public and private performances and have also found the time to release two albums.
Belle Voci was previously featured in our Spring 2019 issue and I was thrilled to speak to them about this latest concert.
NB: We are living in a really surreal time that is especially hard on artists, with gigs being completely canceled for the foreseeable future. It makes it so impressive and touching that you ladies decided to put together this wonderful concert in benefit of WHO Solidarity Response Fund. How did you come up with the idea?
Belle Voci: It is, is has been quite a whirlwind adjusting to such a quiet diary! In times like these we should come together to support one another and we thought what better way to do that than through the gift of song. So, whilst we are all far away from each other we wanted to bring people together with something to uplift their spirits, keep them going, and raise some money for a great cause. Oh, and also to give us something to focus on that wasn’t binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy!
NB: Lots of artist are doing Facebook live concerts which are so fun and important (CCM hopes to present some special content in the near future!) but I do need to say this concert looks like something that could have aired on Songs of Praise. The production value is just wonderful. How were you able to pull that together so quickly?
Belle Voci: Thank you so much, we are so delighted with the final product. We initially asked people on Twitter if anyone had any idea how to live stream on YouTube and Chester Tweets tagged Picturehouse Films who immediately got in touch with us and really drove the project from the word go. They were amazing and, obviously being a professional film crew, had such amazing ideas that we went from just Sophie and me singing in our sitting room to a full camera, sound and lighting crew in different locations around Chester! Would highly recommend this amazing company, not only were they slick and good at what they do, but they were such a joy to work with- big shout out to them!
NB: I know that staying in is really a struggle during this time but it does give a lot of time for reflection and creative brainstorming. Have you ladies been working on new material/ideas?
Belle Voci: Absolutely, it can be challenging at times but we have seen it as a gift – when else do we have the time to properly sit down and just be creative? So often we are rehearsing in our cars or hotel room or working on trains and planes that it has been wonderful to sit and plan our next shows which are coming along nicely… watch this space!
NB: What are some of the ways that fans can help support you (and other artists) during this time?
Belle Voci: We have been overwhelmed by the response from people watching our concert. The influx of emails and social media posts has really boosted us when we felt that the rug had been pulled from under our feet. Their continued support motivates us to keep creating, keep publishing new and old videos and just generally keep focused on a time when this is all over and we can go back to singing around the world. People have also been buying our CDs from our website which has been a big help, so a huge thank you to them!
NB: Once this horrible virus is finally cleared, where is the first-place you girls would like to go?
Belle Voci: We are off to the pub for prosecco and pizza, 100%. And we aren’t leaving all day!
Many thanks to Emily & Sophie for taking the time to chat with us! If you haven’t please stream their truly wonderful concert and support the WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Their music is also available to purchase through their website and on Itunes and Spotify.
