Calming Playlists

Playlists to help soothe and quiet your mind

Listening to music has been proven to decrease our levels of stress hormones. Just as music can motivate you to run faster or exercise longer – when selected for its calming properties, music can help to quiet your mind and help you feel soothed while releasing the stress of the day.

Lullabies are the common thread running through all the music selected for ENO Breathe. Spanning cultures and continents, lullabies stretch back further than the written word, and are rooted in love, tenderness and caring. 

ENO Breathe features songs to sing and performances to watch, listen to and be immersed in – a salve of song.

The playlists below contain specially chosen lullabies that fall into two broad categories.

Lullabies from operas

This carefully curated playlist is made up of lullaby moments from operas. You might recognise some of these famous pieces, while others are likely less familiar. Find a comfortable spot, and listen to this playlist to help you unwind and relax.

ENO Breathe Lullabies

The simple lullabies in this playlist have been specially chosen for this project, and recorded for you by Suzi Zumpe and Lea Cornthwaite – with Jack Ross on guitar. We will sing some of these lullabies during our sessions together. The lullabies ‘Dawn’, ‘Twilight’ and ‘Midnight’ in this playlist were written by participants who have completed the ENO Breathe programme.

ENO Breathe Lullaby Films

We have collated all the ENO Breathe lullaby films in one place for you to watch at your leisure. Each film is a lullaby moment from an opera, specially selected and recorded for you at the London Coliseum, home of English National Opera during the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to watch all the films.

ENO Breathe Participant Community Playlist

The songs in this playlist have been chosen an curated by you, our ENO Breathe Participant Community. These songs were all put forward as ones that our community find calming, and peaceful. We hope you enjoy the playlist made by, and for you.

ENO Breathe Summer Salon Playlist

If our Summer Salon Gallery was immortalised in bricks and mortar, we would surely fill the room with sounds of summer curated by the ENO Breathe Community.

The songs in this playlist have been chosen and curated by you, our ENO Breathe Participant Community, as part of our Summer Salon ENO Breathe Newsletter (August 2024).

© ENO Breathe / 2020