Simon Wade
NEIGHBOURS in the Costa Blanca town of San Miguel de Salinas were treated to a surprise rendition of a Puccini aria on Sunday, March 29, to ease Coronavirus lock-down blues.
Verity Jo Spencer Hall has enjoyed opera singing since an early age, and has starred in plays, music videos and even a film, ‘The Cucaracha Club’.
We spoke exclusively with the 22-year-old, who admitted Sunday’s rooftop rendition came about largely because of the nice weather!
The songstress, whose family have lived in Spain since she was four, revealed, “I planned to sing a while ago, but the weather was far too cold and rainy to do so, so as soon as we had a sunny day I said to Mum ‘Let’s do it!!’
“So I set up my IPad and just started singing, I never dreamed it would get this kind of a response!”
But both Verity and her mum had been busy with something far less glamorous as preparation for her performance.
“The funny thing is, before I decided to sing, Mum and I were painting the balustrades, so before I sung, I was frantically trying to get paint out of my hair and off of my arms and hands.”
Her performances aren’t just limited to entertaining her neighbours, however.
In 2018, Verity met world-renowned vocal teacher Jack Li Vigni, who invited her to London for a consultation at the Royal Opera House, where she was soon offered the role of Zerlina in the opera Don Giovanni at the Mediterranean Opera Festival in Sicily.
After stunning audiences elsewhere in Italy, she was advised by professional pianist and vocal coach, Marek Ruszczynski, to audition for the Royal Academy of Music.
To the delight of her and mum, Tabitha, she was accepted and will begin her 4 year training course in September to achieve the BMus Hons degree in music, Covid-19 restrictions permitting.
Many more of Verity’s performances can be found on her YouTube page…
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkbxiXDlXFLMkUBTOz5yX1Q/videos
If any Olive Press readers have similar stories of neighbours entertaining each other with song, please tell us via [email protected]
