A Hitchin opera singer has become a global sensation this week – after being filmed singing in front of a colony of penguins in Antarctica.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvDjS2LaAgQ

Nick Allen had been booked to perform on a cruise ship touring South America and Antartica, and on a well-earned day off he and two pals decided to take a trip to the frozen land mass.

Dad of one Nick – who singer wife Philippa Healey is a leading lady in the West End – decided to give an impromptu performance of O Sole Mio in front of hundreds of the birds.

However the flightless fliers with their distinctive tuxedo-like appearance were less than impressed with Nick’s wonderful singing – with all of them turning their back on him and waddling off.

The footage turned into an internet sensation overnight, with YouTube views approaching half a million at the time of writing.

Full-time singer Nick told the Comet: “The reaction has been incredible.

“I’ve been interviewed on national American networks, as well as Brazilian, Russian and Japanese TV channels.

“It’s been completely crazy.

“When we set foot in Antarctica I was with a wildlife expert and a geologist who both said: ‘Why don’t you give the penguins a song?’

“So I did. It was completely impromptu and unscripted.

“As an animal lover the last thing I wanted to do was scare them. Maybe I should have sung the theme tune from Pingu to them instead.

“It was a very surreal experience!”