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.

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.

Nobody inspired me more than Julie Andrews, who is a classically trained soprano herself.

One of the problems that we face through the media attention that these artists receive is that there has been an awful lot of talk about opera and classical music being elite and being for an elitist group.

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.

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