I’m not expecting an audience hearing excerpts from The Magic Flute to be struck by its underlying themes on first listening; I think these are concepts that take a while to sink in. Listening to some favourite moments from the opera, I’m hoping audiences will be struck by the sense of fun and invention in Mozart’s music and I very much hope this prompts anyone less familiar with his operas to explore them further. Sometimes taking these exquisite moments of their original context can allow people to access the music and drama more personally; hopefully this might feed into their appreciation of the opera if and when they see it in full.

Tell us about your approach to interpreting Mozart’s arias.

As a younger singer on the audition or opera gala circuit, I often sang Mozart arias and appreciated them as the genius music they are. However, once I had the chance to play the characters on stage, surrounded by expert colleagues with whom I could interact, my perception of these same arias and duets was transformed. I understood them within the course of a character arc; I knew how it felt to wear the clothes, the shoes of that character, how others responded to my interpretive decisions in real time. Since then, singing an excerpt from an opera reminds me of those magical opportunities for play on stage and I find it easier to re-enter that world.