A CHESTER opera duo have broadcast their first online concert in aid of the fight against coronavirus.

Belle Voci first rose to fame after becoming finalists of The Voice UK in 2018.

Since then, they have performed in venues up and down the country as well as being asked to perform The National Anthem at the Wembley Stadium FA Cup Final in 2019.

This week, after the imminent news of a lockdown finally started to sink in, the nation seemed to be mourning the normality of everyday life.

However, following in the footsteps of musicians all over the world, Belle Voci decided to do what they do best – sing.

The duo recorded the concert at All Saints Church, Hoole, which offered the venue free of charge, in aid of the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund. The charity works to help support staff on the front line by providing them with personal protective equipment (PPE) to carry out their duties safely.

The charity is also actively working on a vaccine against the virus.

The concert, which can be seen on YouTube, was recorded before the current Government social distancing lockdown kicked in.

It features timeless opera classics as well as the song You'll Never Walk Alone.

Emily Burnett, a former Abbey Gate College student and Sophie Rohan, a former Queen's School pupil, are the singers who formed Belle Voci.

They said: "In times like these we should come together to support one another and we thought what better way to do that than through the gift of song.

"So, whilst we are all far away from each other we wanted to bring people together with something to uplift their spirits, keep them going, and raise some money for a great cause; the WHO Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, who are bringing personal protective equipment to frontline workers and are working to create a vaccine.

"We hope the concert brings people joy; it certainly was great fun for us to work with Picturehouse Films to record it and have a project for a few days when our whole diary had been cleared practically overnight!”

The concert can be found at the following link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odoMlHOtKNg&feature=youtu.be – or by typing 'Belle Voci' into a YouTube search.

To donate to the fund, visit covid19responsefund.org.