How Opera North's latest project is helping stressed shoppers to chill out

Opera North is hoping their “People’s Lullabies” will have a similar effect on stressed-out shoppers in Leeds.

Short films showing people sharing their favourite lullabies from all over the world are being screened at Leeds Art Gallery in the run up to Christmas.

It’s the culmination of a four-year project which saw Leeds-based South African singer Thandanani Gumede and pianist, arranger and educator Dave Evans running community workshops and encouraging people to sing songs which have a special resonance for them.

The power of music to sustain hope in adversity is a running theme of the series, which began in 2019.

In the tranquil setting of Roundhay Park, Cecilia explains the importance of singing throughout her life, and her gratitude to community theatre company Mafwa.

As she sings her lullaby in the Ngiemboon language, far from her birthplace in Cameroon, the pull of home is strongly felt.

At Feel Good Factor, a health and wellbeing charity community worker Esther Bissell, said the reaction from from those who took part was “overwhelming”.

She said: “It had such a positive impact, and it was fantastic to see even a few neighbours up the road join us, having heard the music!”

Filmed at the charity’s centre in the Leeds suburb of Chapeltown, Maggie sings Granny’s Hielan’ Hame.

Memories of her childhood visits to her grandmother’s house in Scotland charge the sweetly nostalgic lyrics of this standard with a new resonance.

At St. Augustine’s Centre, a charity in Halifax working with people seeking asylum and refugees as well as local people, Stella sings one of her own songs.

Just One Day came to her at a time of despair, she explains: “Just one day / Light will shadow on the darkness”.

It’s a heartfelt and moving message forged in a particular first- hand experience, but with its melody, refrain and message of encouragement, it feels as timeless as a spiritual.

At Armley Helping Hands, a charity for older people in west Leeds, Dave supplies some old-fashioned romance.

Dressed in a Rat Pack suit and fedora, he sings I’ve Got You Under My Skin to his wife, Sue, who remembers how he first won her heart with a karaoke rendition of the song.

Opera North’s People’s Lullabies will be screening on a drop-in basis in the Henry Moore Lecture Theatre at Leeds Art Gallery until Friday December 22.

Entry is free.

They can also be viewed online from Monday December 18.