Entertainment venues across the nation continue to stay closed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and one local opera singer has felt the effects. Opera singer and Mid-Prairie alumna Jessica Faselt had plans to perform in Texas and overseas in February, but had to cancel as the COVID-19 outbreak came to the state of New York, where she has been living. While she is employed through the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and continues to take lessons, many other opera singers are not so fortunate. Faselt tells KCII News how other opera singers have been affected by closures, “Typically as opera singers we are considered independent contractors. You sign a contract to sing that show but if that show doesn’t happen, then you don’t get paid. There were definitely a lot of people counting on that income and counting on having these performances. And that’s the kind of scary thing, is even thinking about when they (opera houses) reopen, how is this going to change the industry. Are people that maybe were in the habit of going to see live performances are they going to rethink that? But we have to try and stay positive. I mean what I hope is that since people are being forced to stay home and be locked away, maybe even more so wanting to get out and they’ll be craving that live performance and that connection with people.” Faselt has since returned home to Kalona to allow the health situation in New York to get better. She plans to return to New York in late August.