John Wilson

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?

Because of just literally because of the power of the story and the music and the whole experience.

That happened in other performances throughout your career.

You performed Der Rosenkavalier many times over the course of your career.

It's said that you were the favourite marshlin of the conductor, Carlos Kleiber, who I saw conducting you in that performance, you can see now on YouTube.

He was a renowned perfectionist, I think.

What was he like to work with?

And he conducted your debut in New York, I think, didn't he?