The musical heritage of Yorkshire is deep and wide.

I also have to support my speaking voice by sitting in a way that engages the diaphragm in the way I would for singing.

There are a lot of unseen elements to having a successful singing career.

And woven into the fabric of this harsh existence was music.

Opera is credible drama now, and it costs less than going to a football match. What have you got to lose?

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.

It worries me that young singers think you can shortcut the training and go straight to fame and fortune, and programmes like Pop Idol have encouraged that.