One Tuesday morning, I am talking to someone via video-conferencing, like so many of us do now. I am even sharing very personal thoughts and feelings with him, as a fair few of us have done this year too. But then something happens which is rare, even in these weird times: the man, a tenor named David, starts singing an aria to me – specifically Ombra mai fu, the famous Largo from Handel's Xerxes.

The song lasts about two minutes; the whole encounter just 17. And yet it is one of the most profound experiences I will have all year. The name of the initiative could not be more fitting: Opera Helps.

The Telegraph London