Flying isn’t fun. There’s lots of waiting around, cramped conditions, and it’s boring. That’s why it’s so much fun that singers from Cape Town Opera came onboard to entertain their fellow passengers with an impromptu performance.

Cape Town Opera is the top opera company in Africa, and they had just finished a very successful tour performing Le Nozze di Figaro (the marriage of Figaro). The South African Airline Lift had agreed to sponsor their flights throughout the tour of the country. Cape Town Opera cleverly quipped that this new partnership was “an upLIFTment of African

In this video, they had just performed at the Roodepoort Theatre in the Johannesburg area and were flying the 1400 miles home. The company wanted to thank LIFT for their generosity, as well as being able to share their love of opera as widely as possible. So, on the flight home, they performed for their fellow passengers.

Admittedly the sound system was not of the quality these professional singers were used to; they sang over the plane’s intercom! When the video starts, they stand together at the front of the plane, taking turns to sing. The passengers look surprised and then delighted by the unexpected live entertainment. Even the non-opera lovers must surely have been delighted to see a professional company perform right in front of them. Here is another sing-a-long on a plane:

It’s strange to watch a group of people in everyday clothes sing so magnificently, particularly somewhere so mundane as on a flight. All of the performers grin broadly throughout the piece. Clearly they are really enjoying being able to reach out and entertain their fellow travellers, people who may never be able to see one of their shows.

When the song ends, the video finally cuts to the passengers who cheer, applaud and whoop. There are smiling faces all around, and everyone seems to be having a far better time than usual while on a flight. Everyone who watches the video must wish they could have been there. Luckily, YouTube allows us to catch one-off performances we would otherwise have missed. Take a moment and enjoy this one.