In Day 4 of our Mental Health Week Mini Series we’re joined by soprano Helen Lacey who tells us about her experience of moving to London after finishing her undergraduate degree at the Royal Northern College of Music.

We discuss leaving conservatoire and the challenge of managing your own time. We talk about breaking into a new work and social dynamic, finding your feet in a city you don’t know as well as finding yourself both personally and professionally. Helen reflects on moving to London, how she coped with the size, pace and scale of the city, and also how the pandemic changed her relationship to her local area.

We also talk about mental health in the classical music industry, how it’s good to see high-profile figures such as Allan Clayton talking about the difficulties of the work (Panic attacks and poor pay: Allan Clayton on the real life of an opera star), yet how we still need to see this openness and honesty filter into our daily practice. As a singer, Helen talks about the way mental health undoubtedly impacts the voice and how, if we don’t care for our mental wellbeing, it can become a vicious cycle.

Helen shares the greatest thing she’s learnt in recent months: we have to tend to all parts of ourselves in order to be able to perform at our best. There has to be a balance.

Episode edited and produced by Daisy Grant Productions.

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