From libretto to Lidl! Opera singer, 27, swaps the stage for shelf-stacking to make ends meet after theatres close for coronavirus lockdown
- Opera singer Lara Harvey, 27, is stacking shelves in Lidl after theatres closed
- The mezzo soprano had just secured a role as a soloist with Opera Holland Park
- She is earning around £9 an hour at Lidl, but says she feels ‘lucky to have a job’
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
She is used to more dramatic and less physical roles in front of an enraptured audience.
But opera singer Lara Rebekah Harvey has had to swap the stage for shelf-stacking at Lidl.
The 27-year-old is one of thousands of performers left in the lurch when the coronavirus crisis closed theatres.
Lara Rebekah Harvey has performed around the country and was a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall in London in the 2016 Mountbatten Festival of Music
For the last three weeks, the 27-year-old has been working in Lidl stores and warehouses, earning about £9 an hour
The mezzo soprano had also just secured a coveted role as a soloist with Opera Holland Park in west London.
But for the last three weeks, she has been working in Lidl stores and warehouses, earning about £9 an hour. ‘It couldn’t be more different,’ she said.
‘My first week was exhausting because it’s very physical and there’s a lot of heavy lifting.
‘But I feel lucky to have a job.
‘Some colleagues there do know I’m an opera singer and I think they are quite surprised.
‘But although I’m grateful, I can’t wait to get back to opera.’
Miss Harvey has performed around the country and was a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall in London in the 2016 Mountbatten Festival of Music.