Like most opera singers, Siobhan Stagg’s 2020 diary fell apart. The opportunity to reflect, and a chance to commission a piece of music in response to the pandemic led to Dermot Tutty’s Listen, a song that has resonated with many. With its launch on YouTube, Limelight caught up with Siobhan to learn more about her time in lockdown and what comes next.

Siobhan Stagg. Photo © Simon Pauly

Where were you living when lockdown happened, and what did your diary look like? 

I’ve called Berlin home for seven years now, but I was performing in Australia when lockdown hit. I had just finished a run at the Adelaide Festival and was in Hobart singing Brahms’ Requiem with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra when public gatherings were banned.

When my subsequent concerts with Sydney Symphony Orchestra were cancelled, I flew home to Berlin and watched along with my colleagues as our performance calendars crumbled like dominoes before our eyes. I lost four months of work, then six, eight and counting. Smaller-scale performances are now restarting in some parts of the world, but it looks like the travel and quarantine restrictions may be...