Joshua Sofaer’s Opera Helps

Opera Helps is a site-specific art project in which professional opera singers visit people in the comfort of their own homes, and sing to them – one to one. It harnesses the redemptive power of opera to help with participant’s personal problems. Unlike therapy, or a trip to the doctor, it doesn’t aim to cure the problem – but participants have found the experience deeply affecting and have felt that their private space feels different afterwards.

Taking part in Opera Helps is an intimate and personal experience. People who have a problem (it can be anything that they find worrying) apply to book a session and an opera singer then visits their home. The singer listens attentively to the participant’s description of their troubles, and then selects a suitable aria to sing. The power of the voice in the domestic space creates an intense and moving experience; the participant hears music in an unfamiliar way, encouraging them to listen attentively, while focussing and reflecting on their individual problem.

Opera Helps was created by artist Joshua Sofaer.

It first took place in 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden, with Folkoperan, where it had a profound affect on many who took part. Opera Helps toured across the UK, March-May 2016, produced by Wunderbar (a member of the National Live Art UK network). The UK touring partners were Colchester Arts CentreHeart of Glass and Norfolk & Norwich Festival

Categories: Report


Date Posted: 16 June 2016