Main content

Soprano Abigail Kelly questions the colour of her voice. Sounds of Silence is a series exploring the impact of lockdown on musicians across the UK. Presented by Soumik Datta.

Washing her wigs and singing the traditional songs of her ancestors in a basement in Birmingham… that’s where we find opera singer Abigail Kelly during her lockdown.

In the second episode of ‘Sounds of Silence’, the British-Jamaican soprano questions the colour of her voice and its connection to her heritage. But what are the sounds she’s hearing in the void? And how is she reflecting on the memories of her past, the silence of the present and her expectations of the future?

Composer and presenter Soumik Datta captures the thoughts of instrumentalists and singers across the UK, to discover their sounds of silence during the global crisis.

Presenter and Producer: Soumik Datta
Executive Producer: Clare Freeman
Sound Mixed by: Camilo Tirado
A Soumik Datta Arts production for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3

Commissioned for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Culture in Quarantine supported by The Space Arts, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Arts and Arts Council England.

Available now

14 minutes

Broadcast

  • Tue 18 Aug 2020 22:30

Death in Trieste

Death in Trieste

A 1760s murder still informs ideas about aesthetics, a certain sort of sex, and death.

Watch: My Deaf World

Watch: My Deaf World

Five compelling experiences of what it is like to be deaf in 21st-century Britain.

The Book that Changed Me

Five figures from the arts and science introduce books that changed their lives and work.

Download The Essay

Download The Essay

Download all the episodes from the series and listen at your leisure.

Podcast