Seeing that made me understand how profound the drama of opera was and how music theatre is the most powerful audiovisual form there is.

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

Just walking along Shaftesbury Avenue gave me such a buzz - it still does - and communicating with an audience through music is still the biggest thrill in the world.

I saw The Sound of Music when I was 10 and thought that it was the most beautiful singing I had ever heard.

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

I would just like to say that opera is no longer about fat people in breastplates shattering wine glasses.