Tweetseats is back!

Opera Australia and QPAC are proud partners in bringing the tweetseats initiative back to opera lovers. This popular Opera Australia ticket giveaway program is now coming to QPAC for the first time! We're giving ten Queenslanders the opportunity to win a double pass to The Magic Flute on Tuesday 29 May at 7:30pm.

If you win, you'll be met in the lobby of QPAC's Lyric Theatre by a friendly member of the Opera Australia team, ready to answer your questions and guide you through the night. Though you can't tweet during the performance, our Tweetseat winners are encouraged to tweet their impressions of the experience before and after the show, as well as during interval. It's a great way to get free tickets, win Twitter followers and meet other tweeters!

To win, simply tweet: 

"Birds are tweeting and so am I! I'm entering to win 2 #QLDTweetseats at @OperaAust's Magic Flute with @QPAC: http://bit.ly/Ka1wa5" 

Tweet this before midday on Thursday 24 May to go in the running. Winners will be announced that afternoon and can collect their tickets on the night of the show. We're encouraging people of all ages and experience levels to enter, so don't be shy: enter to win today!

 FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MAGIC FLUTE 

10 Ways To Get Hooked On Opera

What makes somebody go from zero to opera lover? How did they find and engage with opera and why does it mean so much to them now? 

A few weeks ago we asked our Facebook followers to tell us what got them hooked on opera and received over 50 responses. We never dreamed we would get so many moving, funny, and insightful comments. So here are 10 ways to get (30) people hooked on opera and create even more opera addicts. Check out the original post to view all our entries and get ready to be inspired!

Su-Lynn hated learning her part for The Mikado but after seeing it live was hooked!  Alice found that a fancy night out at The Marriage of Figaro piqued her interest in opera Mitchell's curiosity about the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith led to a life-long love for opera Meg's Year 8 relief teacher  played the Queen of the  Night and she "could not believe  that such a voice existed" 'Soave sia il vento' was an opera trio from Cosi fan tutte which Jarryd also grew up hearing Stephanie's French teacher played the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance, and her daughter later played the role of Mabel. Jarryd's grandmother used to play famous opera arias such as 'Un bel di vedremo' from Madama Butterfly Narelle would fall asleep on the  steps of her grandparents' house as  they  played 'Nessun  dorma!' and waltzed below "Even though I had no idea what was being said, the pain and heartache portrayed by the singer playing  Rodolfo touched my heart and was forever imprinted in my memory." Tim found opera after buying a Teddy Tahu Rhodes CD as  a teenager Squall became hooked on Opera  after seeing Cheryl Barker  live in Otello: "hearing her  Desdemona did something to  me. Magic, if you believe in it." Daniel was in love with the famous 'Au fond du temple saint' duet but couldn't rewind the LP so listened to the whole of The Pearlfishers over and over again The march in Aida was one of the opera highlights on a CD Daniel's grandmother gave him Kate found the spooky and sexy Salome to be a key moment in her opera history The use of music underneath the confession of Azucena in Il  Trovatore fascinated Kate Josh's grandmother, who saw  Dame Joan Sutherland live in  Lucia di Lammermoor, found  comfort in opera as her  Alzheimers progressed Antonia's daughter gave her two tickets to La Traviata on Sydney Harbour Blagorodna heard 'Song to the Moon' from Rusalka on the radio and changed her opinion of opera Ann heard The Coronation of Poppea on ABC Radio and was "gobsmacked" Marita's first live opera Carmen at the Sydney Opera House led to her love of opera Alessandra knew she was hooked on opera after hearing 'Te Deum' from Tosca live in Barcelona Meg walked out of her first opera La boheme in tears, hoping nobody would see Jodie found that Don Giovanni blew her away and removed her worries at the time Shannaye's experience seeing Of Mice and Men with her father has led her to want to travel the country to hear more opera Seeing La clemenza di Tito on Swedish TV led to Andrei's love for Mozart operas Productions such as Graeme Murphy's Turandot keep Justin's love for opera alive 'O mio babbino caro' was an aria which Jarryd associates strongly with his childhood

10. Begrudgingly seeing a performance Su-Lynn: When I was a student, I was learning the violin and had to learn a piece from The Mikado. I hated it! My teacher suggested I go and see a performance of The Mikado. I was amazed with the costumes, performers and the music and realised learning the violin was a great start to appreciating opera. 9. Curiosity Alice: Shamefully, it all started with a high school obsession with Phantom of the Opera. I was so into the musical and Leroux's story that I decided I ought to try listening to opera. At school, we happened to be studying Mozart, and (following my pattern of obsession), I really enjoyed Amadeus and got into a few of Mozart's arias. As a birthday present in year 12, my friend and I got tickets to see the Opera Australia production of The Marriage of Figaro. We went all-out: floor-length dresses, opera cloaks and gloves. It was a fantastic performance, and we sat there in the 6th row, hoping Joshua Bloom would look our way! From there, I was stuck! (I just thought from that moment that the music drew you into the story so much more than mere drama...)  (Alice we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights) Mitchell: I live in Penrith, Sydney where we have the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre and one day while in Penrith, I saw it and thought "Who is that lady and why would they name a building after her?” When I got home, I looked up Joan Sutherland on Google and read that she was an opera singer and I thought to myself "oh how boring" and stopped reading. Then about a week later, I thought about it again and decided to search for Joan Sutherland on YouTube and I heard her sing 'È'Strano... Ah, Fors’è lui... Sempre libera' from her 1960-1(?) studio recording and was completely blown away!...I then started attending Opera Australia's performances at the Sydney Opera House and I can't describe what I felt. It's not as if I doubted that people could "sing like that" but to see and hear it in person, it was a whole other thing. I thought "wow, I'm actually right here witnessing this. It's happening right in front of me". It felt really special. I felt like I was buzzing with energy just from the atmosphere. Opera for me has now become more than just a love, or something I'm "hooked on", it's now my raison d'etre. 8. Being forced to listen to it  Liane: I was 'force-fed' opera by my father & his 78 rpm records. It was almost a subliminal shift from "OMG, not more opera" in my late teens to falling hopelessly in love with the sumptuous feast that is opera. Tara: I'm not sure I had any choice BUT to become hooked on opera. My father would blare his favourites the moment my mother left the house (at the kind of volume that could be heard halfway up the street), so I basically had the choice of earplugs or learning to love it. It was an easy choice :) 7. A good music teacher Meg: Year 8 music many years ago now. A relief music teacher played the Queen of the Night for us and I could not believe that such a voice existed that sounded so much like an instrument. Stephanie: I come from a non-classical family background. My first taste of opera was watching an operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, at my high school and seeing a totally unexpected, funny, and impressive side of my French teacher who sang the Major General! Then, many years later in Emerald, Central Queensland, my unexpectedly-musical daughters were privileged to be in the chorus of Don Giovanni (run by Opera Queensland, I think) which spurred their fascination with all things opera. Last year, one daughter played Mabel in her high school's production of Pirates of Penzance. She is now studying Classical Voice at the Conservatorium! I now try to listen to or see as many operas as I can, and my appreciation of the magnificent voices, and the power and beauty of opera keeps growing.  (Stephanie we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 1999 highlights)  6. Positive association from childhood Hannah: All through my childhood, after a hectic Saturday cleaning, mum would always put on an opera CD (or five!) to relax with on a Sunday afternoon. Opera thus came to equal relaxing, lazy, family-filled afternoons after a hectic chore-filled day. Opera music still transports me with that special childhood feeling. Jarryd: When I was a child and I had trouble falling to sleep at night, my grandmother would play classical records to calm me down and help me fall to sleep. Most of these records included some of the most beautiful arias in operatic history including ‘O mio babbino caro’, ‘Un bel di vedremo’ and ‘Soave sia il vento’. All throughout my childhood, the highlight of visiting my grandparents would be sitting on my grandmother's lap and listening to the hundreds of operatic records she'd collected over the years. Years later, as a teenager when looking through my grandparents' attic, I came across these records and sat for hours listening to them. One record struck me in particular - a recording of Puccini's La bohème, particularly the very last scene ending in the death of Mimì. Even though I had no idea what was being said, the pain and heartache portrayed by the singer playing Rodolfo touched my heart and was forever imprinted in my memory. I have a very deep and personal connection to opera which is founded in my childhood and I have listened to, attended and loved opera ever since. (Jarryd we're going to send you a CD of La bohème featuring Anna Netrebko) Narelle: When I was tiny I often stayed with my great aunt and uncle, who lived in a two-story terrace house near Bondi Beach. They were passionate about opera and each evening after the biggest bubble bath, they would tuck me into the high double bed where I'd listen to the strains of Mario Lanza floating up the stairs, until eventually I'd climb out of bed and sit on the middle step watching them waltz around the lounge room until I fell asleep. Although they had been married for nearly 60 years, Auntie Madge and Uncle Pep were the most romantic couple I've even known and opera has been in my blood ever since. When I hear 'Ave Maria' or 'Nessun dorma!' my heart soars with memories of them  (Narelle we're going to send you a CD of La bohème featuring Anna Netrebko) 5. A catchy tune or a standout voice   Tim: Teddy Tahu Rhodes got me hooked when I bought his first CD back in high school. Not an inspirational story but a pretty damn good reason! Daniel: I kept listening to my grandmother's LP of The Pearlfishers, but it was only to hear the duet ‘Au fond du temple saint’. No such thing as repeat on an LP! I later found a CD of operatic favourites that had the duet from The Pearlfishers, but also introduced me to other classics such as ‘Nessun dorma’, ‘Largo al factotum’, and choral pieces like ‘Va pensiero’, and the march from Aida. (Daniel we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights) Squall: When I really got hooked on opera - apart from always liking it, having grown up listening to it - was seeing and hearing Cheryl Barker live in Otello. It wasn't my first, or for that matter favourite, opera, but hearing her Desdemona did something to me. Magic, if you believe in it. 4. Learning to sing Kate: I got hooked on opera when I got to 29 and realised that I really loved singing and would regret it if I didn't at least try to become a singer. I first tried music theatre, which was OK, but realised I loved the orchestration and emotional content of an opera more. The moment when Salome first appears is foreboding and very sexy, or the way Verdi uses the strings to evoke the fire Azucena unknowingly burnt her child in.... And then her amazing mezzo voice over the top... It's fascinating. (Kate we're going to send you a copy of the Ultimate Verdi highlights CD) Angela: I have a mother who always pushed it down our throats when young and I resisted, until I started having singing lessons myself aged 48 years (OK so I'm a late starter). Discovered I have a "classical" voice and at the same time I discovered a love of the opera genre, and I now go along to productions whenever I can. Apart from that, opera people - singers, conductors, directors, producers, etc - are the nicest people. I also volunteer with MTO here in Melbourne and enjoy helping out where I can.   (Angela we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights)  3. A family member or close friend Simone: I was just a little girl, my grandparents used to play it when I went and stayed with them, and later to live with them. Firstly, I think it was the dresses that drew me to it. But then came the sound as I was introduced to Bryn and Cecilia singing, in particular their performance of Le nozze di Figaro...Now, some 14 years later, it still resounds within me and inspires many of my designs.  (Simone we're going to send you a CD of La bohème featuring Anna Netrebko) Rebecca: A very dear friend who has sadly passed was a subscriber and would proudly sit in the front row of every single opening night. We used to immerse ourselves in opera and I truly fell in love with the whole concept of opera when I went to my first performance nearly 20 years ago. I don't get to many performances lately but I can always put on a CD, close my eyes and fall in love all over again with the magic of opera. Josh: I came late to opera - in my 30s. My grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimers and as the disease progressed she lost her ability to talk, but continued to listen to opera CDs (she loved Dame Joan Sutherland and even saw her in Lucia di Lammermoor in Paris). She and I would sit and listen to operas (or watch DVDs on TV) for hours on end, lost in the music. She died a few years ago but I continue to listen to opera at home and get to as many OA and other performances as money allows each year.  (Josh we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights, which features some of the great Joan Sutherland) Antonia: I love all music genres but opera was never my favourite until my daughter started voice training and introduced me to the magnificent world of opera. My daughter was given two tickets to La Traviata on Sydney Harbour because she was a volunteer. She graciously gave me the tickets, I was overwhelmed by her generosity and then on the evening of the opera I was transported to another world!  (Antonia we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights) 2. TV, Radio and Cinema broadcasts Blagorodna: Even as a music teacher, conductor and classical pianist, I was not so fussed on opera...I heard Dvorak’s ‘Song to the Moon’ from Rusalka about 25 years ago when I was driving to work, by a soprano who had a beautiful voice, the sweetest timbre. It is still my favourite aria and I play it, wherever I am, EVERY FULL MOON. The Same Voice...Lucia Popp.  Andrei: The first opera I saw was La clemenza di Tito on TV filmed from the Drottningholm Court Theatre in Sweden. That was in 1991, the 200th anniversary of Mozart's death. SBS ran a series of Mozart operas and I saw Le nozze di Figaro and Die Zauberflote afterwards and was hooked from there onwards. I love Mozart and unconsciously rave on about him in conversation...Too bad I can't sing a note. I love Mozart coloratura pieces.   (Andrei we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 1999 highlights)  Marita: I got hooked by watching the screenings of the Opera at the Met series at The Dendy, Opera Quays Sydney. A lovely friend then took me to Carmen at the Opera House for my birthday and I was totally gone! Anne: The very first time I listened to ABC FM Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea was playing. Never having heard opera in stereo before, I was gobsmacked. Dylan: The Sunday Afternoon Arts on telly...on those rainy Melbourne days cooped up inside the house with great arts stories...and voila there was this art form with music, theatre and text! What more does a precocious little kid like me need? I was lost to the other world but was reborn into this new world of opera! (Dylan we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 1999 highlights)    1. A great first opera (sometimes accidental!) Alessandra: While I was still at uni, I was able to get some concession tickets for Tosca at Gran Teatre de Liceu, Barcelona's opera house. After the ending of the first act, when they sang ‘Va Tosca’ (‘Te Deum’), I knew I was hooked on opera... Was just amazing! Meg: The music was always available at home but the first opera I saw, in the flesh, was La bohème. I remember at the end walking out of the theatre (well before the Opera House) in tears and hoping no-one would see me.  (Meg we're going to send you the Ultimate Verdi CD pack)  Jodie: I've mentioned this here before, but it was actually last year, seeing OA's Don Giovanni which sealed the deal for me...I was going through a pretty rough time last year with some major stuff going on, and I'd never been to the opera before so I thought, "why not?" So I went and was totally transported and blown away by this experience. So much so that I depleted my sad student bank account in order to go again three nights later! It seriously changed my life: instant passion for opera...it was the fact that it completely took me out of myself and distracted me from my "stuff" for three hours was what made it so powerful, and it made me realise that probably everyone in that theatre (even the ones onstage, backstage and in the pit) had things that were troubling them but we were all able to leave the world outside for a bit and share this experience. That's when I understood the power of opera. (Jodie we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights)  Maggi: 1973 went to Ruddigore by mistake, sat on BENCHES in the Gods and have not stopped loving it yet!  (Maggi we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights)  Shannaye: I got hooked by seeing a play The Mikado by a small production company in Elwood. I took my Dad to see Of Mice and Men and Opera Australia is the best ever. I would travel all over Australia to see a production. Justin: In 1988 as a penurious uni student I went to see Porgy and Bess at Melbourne's Spoleto Festival. It was spellbinding and totally captivating (although there was no way that a tiny goat could move such a huge bass-baritone, cart or not!). The following year I took out a youth subscription to The Australian Opera and the love affair with Opera was confirmed; I've been a subscriber ever since. (Justin we're going to send you a CD of Opera Australia 2000 highlights, but also a Cleveland Orchestra recording of Porgy and Bess!)

What You Think: The Barber of Seville

Have you seen or are you planning to see The Barber of Seville? What do you think about the production?
This blog serves as a place to voice your thoughts, ask your questions, and post your reviews of the show. Posting a review enters you into our Weekly Review Competition, with the most insightful review each week receiving two tickets to an opera of choice in 2012.

About this production of The Barber of Seville:

Crusty old Dr Bartolo intends to marry his ward Rosina tomorrow. Young, handsome Almaviva means to beat him to it. With the help of Figaro, the eponymous barber of Seville, he’ll marry her today. This action-packed opera tells of their efforts to dodge Bartolo, woo Rosina and get her married off to Almaviva under Bartolo’s very nose.

Director Elijah Moshinsky and designer Michael Yeargan are responsible for some of Opera Australia’s best loved productions, and this is certainly one of them. First staged in 1995, it is inspired by 1920s Hollywood comedies such as Keystone Cops, Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy. Think slapstick stage business, chase scenes and split second comic timing. The larger-than-life action fits perfectly with Rossini’s hectic score and the fast-moving story.

Click here for more information, cast lists, ticket sales, and more

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2. Enter your review in the main text box: don't forget to include your name and email address.
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On the road with Schools Company

Schoolchildren watch on at Oz Opera's Hansel and Gretel launch

Ashley Giles

In March this year, after a three-week rehearsal period at Sydney’s Opera Centre, Oz Opera’s Schools Company launched its New South Wales tour of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, which runs until September this year, and which will bring the experience of the opera to over 45,000 children in Greater Sydney and regional NSW.

Managing a touring opera company has its challenges, of which keeping everyone happy is the biggest.  As baritone Ashley Giles, who performs the role of the children’s father and also manages the company, puts it: “Artists are always thrilled to be able to perform, but you have to ensure that the roster is balanced because when your weeks are filled with 12 shows each, plus hours of driving before and after, you become exhausted and sometimes grumpy.”

Ashley Giles as Father in
Hansel and Gretel

At the same time, it’s important to give everybody the opportunity to tour. “Audience response in regional New South Wales is wonderful and artists love it. Going to the bush is a kind of working holiday.”

Nevertheless, when on tour, any number of things can go wrong. Giles says: “At the Sydney Opera House, the environment is controlled…sort of [he laughs]. But for us, every venue is new: access to grounds and loading dock (if there is one); size of performing space, availability of lighting; quality of sound – we never know what these are going to be like until we get there.”

Once the show has been set up, things can still go out of whack. “Kids would ask: ‘That broom falling; was it meant to happen?’ And you’d say: ‘What do you think?’ We always try to make glitches part of the show.” But once an electrical storm came through halfway through a performance and cut off the power. The school didn’t have a piano and since the company was using an electric keyboard, it had to stop. We went back three weeks later and performed the show.

Louise Fenbury as Hansel, Jennifer
Bonner as Mother, Clarissa Spata as
Gretel and Eve Klein as the Fairy

Kids always have lots of questions: Why is Hansel played by a girl? How does the fire in the witch’s oven burn? Why does her wand glow? How do the artists manage to change costumes so quickly? And one little child wanted to know if the performers were a family. “It certainly feels like it at times!” Giles laughs.

Schools Company performers drive the van and car in which they travel; they cater and they bump in the set. And yes, they get lost. “Sometimes we’re talking and we lose track of where we’re supposed to turn off,” Giles sighs. But the only flat tyre he’s had in five years was in the dock at the Opera Centre.

Keeping the show fresh through dozens of performances is not that difficult when the venue is changing all the time. And kids’ responses vary. “Kindy kids laugh easily; older ones tend to be more restrained, but if you get them all together, the little ones’ spontaneity loosens up the older kids. Sounds a bit cheesy, but when you see the kids smile, that’s all you need to keep it fresh.”

Kids are often  invited to explore the
set after the show

Some city schools have their own theatres and regularly visit the Opera House to see shows; some country ones are isolated buildings at the end of a dirt road with potholes, flanked by a petrol station and a pub. “We love performing in a theatre with lighting and sound equipment, but performing for kids who just don’t have access to shows is very special too,” Giles says.

This year Christopher Cartner, music director of the Schools Company orchestra, is travelling with the troupe full time. “Hansel and Gretel is quite a difficult score and it helps to have someone keeping an eye on things.” The Schools Company also travels with a director’s score, and Naomi Edwards (director) drops by from time to time to ensure that all is going according to plan.

Clarissa Spata as Gretel

In terms of artistic development, Giles says that his years with Schools Company have been gold. “You learn to sing with many distractions and to perform if you’re feeling under the weather. You discover that after singing the same role 200 times, you’re still tweaking and improving. You build performance stamina by singing every day. And bumping in sets gives you a great appreciation for what backstage staff do.”

Artists who have gone on from Schools Company to mainstage all affirm what a great grounding it’s been; how much easier mainstage has been once they’ve had a grounding in Schools Company.

Says Giles: “I’d love to be a principal on mainstage one day. But performing for kids is wonderful in itself.”

True to the moment

Amelia Farrugia in The Merry Widow

Fresh from New York’s Met, where she covered Anna Netrebko in Manon, Amelia Farrugia shares her thoughts on singing Hanna in OA’s Melbourne run of The Merry Widow.

You are reprising the role of Hanna in The Merry Widow in Melbourne this autumn, after a long Sydney run last winter. What have you learned about the role during the Sydney run, and what will you do differently in Melbourne?

I may change the accent for Melbourne, in consultation with the artistic team. In Sydney it was a “northern British farm-girl” which was very hard to perfect.

Which parts of the show did audiences like best?

The audience always laughs and claps along when the septet of men, lead by DavidHobson, sing ‘Cherchez la femme’. It is staged so well and really gets the audience involved. Personally, I love seeing the men line up and dance together! Valencienne’s can-can with the ladies of the night is very entertaining and saucy too. My dad said of it, “I didn’t know this show would be quite so naughty!”

David Hobson and Amelia
Farrugia in The Merry Widow

In which ways did you and David Hobson fine tune your performance together?

We did lots of dialogue runs and waltz practice. I didn’t realise waltzing was so difficult – even with ten years’ ballet training, I still found it immensely challenging.

You sang a great many performances of the role in Sydney. How does one keep it fresh every night?

Staying true to every moment…not thinking about what’s coming next.

Tell us more about covering Manon for Anna Netrebko in New York. That must have been very exciting?

It was hugely exciting to be working at the Met for the first time, and also to be working in the USA for the first time. Miss Netrebko arrived two weeks after me, which meant that I had to fill in for her, working with the A-cast. It was a tremendous opportunity to go through the motions myself, so that in the event that I did get onstage, I would  feel more confident, ready and connected to the other cast members. The costume fitting was wonderful… those gowns! They were incredible, French down to the last seam, and by some miracle they fitted like a glove. During the rehearsal period, Anna Netrebko invited me to her home for a small cast gathering; I found it extraordinary that she was capable of such grace and generosity in this hectic time. She even cooked the Russian treats herself!  Once the show opened, there was plenty of time to explore the city with [my husband] Paul and [our son] Ben. I adore New York and this job gave me the perfect excuse to lap it all up.

Amelia Farrugia as Eurydice in
Orpheus in the Underworld

Do you think you’ll approach your own interpretation of Manon differently in future?

If you are truthful to the score, hopefully the essence of the character will always be expressed. But having said that, you can perceive a role in many different ways. Once you are acquainted with a particular director’s unique vision, you take that interpretation into your own hands and make it work for you. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to have worked with Stuart Maunder on the role, both in Melbourne in 2004 and in Sydney in 2010. It was also magnificent to work with the dynamic young French conductor, Maestro Emmanuel Plasson. Thanks to these collaborations I know the work inside out, which was a huge advantage in the rehearsal room at the Met.

How do you think your Met experience will impact on your singing career?

This enormous opportunity forced me to rise to the occasion and give my absolute best. I am more aware now of how to keep myself in peak vocal form. I also found the other artists and fellow colleagues extremely inspiring and I had some life-changing sessions with Renata Scotto, regarded as the world’s greatest exponent of Violetta in La traviata, on singing that role.

Amelia Farrugia in The Merry Widow

In the New York winter, how did you manage to keep your fitness levels up, as with all that dancing, The Merry Widow is physically a very demanding role?

In a singing/dancing/acting role like The Merry Widow, you need to be able to move around without getting out of breath. This takes a lot of dedicated practice and show fitness. Thankfully, there was a fitness centre in my building, and I did lots of walks around Central Park as the weather warmed up.

 How do your husband and son manage without you when you’re away from home?

I am blessed with a husband who runs his own business (Paul Chesher of 4D International), who is able to schedule his working day around drop-offs and pick-ups. Ben is ten years old now, so he is catching the bus to school, which means my day-to-day taxi duties have eased up. We have a lot of great restaurants and delicatessens where we live, so Paul can pick up pre-cooked meals when he doesn’t feel like cooking. When I’m away we Skype every day, so we can stay connected. Thank God for the internet.

Which roles would you still like to perform?

I have sung La traviata in concert for the Brisbane Festival but not in a staged production, so that would be fabulous. I would also love to sing some more French repertoire, Gounod’s Juliette, Massenet’s Thaïs, Thomas’ Mignon… and in terms of Italian repertoire, Gilda from Rigoletto.