Soprano inhales helium and sings a virtuosic Mozart aria

15 November 2019, 09:36 | Updated: 15 November 2019, 11:52

Voice-altering gas, a trained singer, and some cracking Mozart coloratura.

What does helium do to your singing voice? Back in 2014, American soprano Christina Elizabeth showed the world, drawing breath from a balloon, before belting out ‘Deh Vieni Non Tardar’ from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.

Of course, it was all captured on someone’s phone, so now we all know what what gas-infused coloratura sounds like.

Helium is lighter than air, so the sound waves travel through it faster, changing the pitch that normal air will generate from a singer's voice box.

The singers of King's College Cambridge have also been breathing from the spirited balloons, in this rather clever April Fools prank video. Listen out for some grown men hitting the famous top Cs of Allegri's Miserere.

Vocal LOLs aside, we should point out that doctors do not recommend inhaling helium. In large quantities, it can have adverse effects on health.