An opera singer’s weekly performances to cheer up his English village is so loud it can be heard three miles away.
Tenor John Hudson lives in the Piddle Valley in Dorset and its natural acoustics help carry his booming voice across the countryside.
John, who should have been on tour of Sweden now, has taken to singing on his doorstep every Thursday at 6 pm before the ‘clap for carers.’ Villagers in Piddlehinton say they look forward to John’s stunning performances each week.
John, 58, said: “We thought it would be great if I went out in the front yard as we have this fantastic acoustic over the valley.
It’s like an echoing, you can hear things for miles away.
“We went out for a walk a couple of days ago and a guy who lives three miles away asked me ‘are you the singer?’ He said that he sits in his garden and listens to me.” John has previously sung for the English, Welsh and Scottish National Operas as well as touring the world to perform.
His doorstep concerts started off with opera but he now gets requests to sings songs from musicals and has even had one for The Pogues.
He said: “It has just taken off.
I find myself panicking on a Tuesday afternoon about what to sing.
I’m constantly looking for new stuff.
“I’m an opera singer but I’ve been singing all sorts.
Don Quixote, Les Mis, people like the musicals and they’re a good crossover for me because you need a good voice but they’re a bit easier than opera.
“I even had a request for Dirty Old Town by The Pogues as it was someone’s first wedding dance.
“Some people come out to listen, but I don’t advocate that.
I would rather they stay inside and open the window but there are so few people here we are absolutely safe.
“It’s a bit of fun and I do it for the people who can’t get out.
Performing is wonderful for me so it absolutely gives something to me too.” John, a joiner by trade, has lived in the village for ten years with wife Claire and children Hettie, 17, and 14-year-old Herbie.
Local Vicky Steven, who has lived in the village for 17 years, said: “John has got one of the most joyous voices I have ever heard in my life.
“He brings that to our lovely village and it’s magical.
“You can see people dotted around the fields listening.
“It just lifts our spirits.
There are a lot of elderly people in the village who live on their own who come out and stand at their garden gates.
“I do quite a lot of deliveries to elderly people around the village and they say we so look forward to hearing John’s voice, it gives us something to look forward to each week and makes such a big difference.”