The West Australian - 14 June 2025

When WA Opera tenor Paul O’Neill isn’t working on his pitch, the classically trained singer is working with scales of a different kind.

The WA Academy of Performing Arts graduate can often be found singing an aria at the deep fryer of High C’s Fish and Chips, the takeaway diner he opened in Coolbellup last year.

“Occasionally, I’ve cracked out a note or two for people and they’ve been impressed,” O’Neill laughed, adding that he usually reins in his powerhouse voice when singing in his shop.

“It’s quite boomy in here and I’ll take someone’s ears off.”

O’Neill said a friend suggested he open the family business when the COVID pandemic shut down theatres and opera houses around the world.

“We were sort of sidelined and there wasn’t anything for us to do,” he said.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do if (COVID) happened again — what would my side hustle be? And somebody suggested a fish and chips shop.”

High C’s includes opera-themed dishes, while its cartoon fish mascot is Snapperoti, in tribute to legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.