Three operas you love most?

RigolettoDer RosenkavalierBilly Budd.

David Greco.

Three favourite baritones? 

Peter Mattei, Gerard Souzay and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Three favourite mezzos? 

Janet Baker, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Kathleen Ferrier.

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in Peter Sellars’ production of Handel’s Theodora

Your most memorable musical experience as an audience member?

The first time I went to choral evensong at Christchurch Cathedral, Oxford.

If you weren’t an opera singer, what would you be?

A piano accompanist heavily involved in chamber music.

Three operas you could happily never hear again?

StiffelioLa Bohème, and The Flying Dutchman.

Three underrated composers?

I think most ones deserving of praise have been given it now to be honest.

Your favourite films?

Bright StarThe Hollow Crown series and The Iron Lady.

Most embarrassing moment onstage?

Debut with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in the Sydney Opera House. I walked onstage in my tails but forgot to substitute my Blundstone Boots for my patent leather shoes.

A recording to be stranded with on a desert island?

Handel: Great Oratorio Duets by Carolyn Sampson and Robin Blaze.

A singer of the past you’d like to perform with?

Maria Callas.