John Wilson

You don't fit the mould?

But that's what I mean, the worthy opportunities there to have taken on the mantle of the diva, because people are treating you in a different way.

You also have a jet set lifestyle.

You're flying around the world to opera houses and concert halls the whole time.

It's not normal, is it?

Did it feel glamorous?

Did it feel like you were living the high life at the time?

Your next choice, Felicity Lott, is the composer Richard Strauss.

You are well known for your interpretations of several of his heroines, including the Marshalin in Der Rosenkavalier and the Countess in Capriccio.

What was your first introduction to the music of Richard Strauss?

I was watching a performance from, I think it was 1994, in the Vienna State Opera, in which you're performing in Der Rosenkavalier.

Just for those who don't know the opera, just give us a brief synopsis of Der Rosenkavalier.

Well, we could shortcut, we could say that Octavian then falls in love with Sophie.

And so the marshalling loses her young lover.

And has to accept her fate and be stoic and be resilient.

How important was it that, even though this is regarded by many people as one of the highlights of your career, this performance, playing the Marshall, that you had played Octavian in a previous production probably 14 years earlier, I think?

So you have the reverse perspective... It's very interesting.

..from the young lover.

It gives you a kind of a psychological insight into that relationship.

So why were you crying?