Nobody inspired me more than Julie Andrews, who is a classically trained soprano herself.
And woven into the fabric of this harsh existence was music.
My mum used to say to me, 'Spit on yer 'ands and take a fresh 'old.' Keep going even if you have setbacks.
Singing is an arduous business and it needs sacrifices.
To tell you the truth, I never listen to opera at home.
What people really should be able to be confident in is that the standards of music- making that classically trained musicians present is elite, it is the best and all of us as artists should be committed to that.