Dame Sarah Connolly’s Brexit comments are about more than just opera

The mezzo-soprano’s fears over the future of British musicians also mirrors the general concerns of our readers, writes Chris Stevenson

Dame Sarah Connolly says singers won’t be able to spend time in EU countries honing their skills (PA)

Brexit is a constant topic for those readers sending letters to The Independent, or commenting on articles – whether they are for or against.

Five years after the original vote, it is still one of the issues that we receive the most correspondence about. So I’d be interested to see what readers make of the comments by Dame Sarah Connolly about the future for British musicians, and specifically opera singers.

“I’m very worried that without some kind of situation where British musicians can spend a significant amount of time in Europe establishing their careers,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. “I’m very concerned that what we have at the moment – which is roughly 20 per cent of the global excellence, some of the greatest singers in the world are British – where’s that next generation going to come from if they can’t get known?