Did you ask a question in the Q&A that wasn’t answered…

WE’VE ANSWERED THEM HERE:

Do opera singers wear special underwear? Yes, always.

What are the top 3 moments in Titanic that make it such a life-affirming work? The moment Winslet sees the ship for the first time from under the brim of that giant hat, the sweaty hand on the steamy window of the car (obviously), and the moment Billy Zane says “I put the diamond in the coat. I PUT THE COAT ON HER!”

Was Maria Callas the best? She was amazing.

Are there any operas with cats in? I saw a production of Rusalka at the Royal Opera House that had a REAL LIFE CAT IN. We all lost our shit. The poor singers, we weren’t paying them any attention at all. There’s an opera by Ravel called L'enfant et les sortilèges that has a cat in. We did it at music college and I was sad I didn’t get to play the cat, but it’s a role for a baritone. I played the frog and had two lines. It was meant for a tenor but we didn’t have enough. I was quite rubbish then. There’s also a very famous duet by Rossini called the Cat Duet.

Do you hate it when songs are used in adverts? Not at all! The more opera there is in the world the better, in my view.

What flavour crisps go best with opera? Just ready salted. There’s already so much going on.

How do you take care of your voice when you use it so much? I am religiously dedicated to not talking the day before and the day of a performance. That, a good warm up, and lots of water. The rest is technique I think.

What opera gives you the greatest joy? I think the music in La Cenerentola is very joyful, and it has great memories attached to it.

Do you panic before a performance? No. I do get nervous though. These days I get nervous about whether people will like the show or not, rather than about what I’m doing in the show.

Do opera singing women ever wear ‘control pants’ - if so, style? I don’t like control pants, they stop me from pooing. But I have been know to wear an awful lot of pants onstage - one time it was four pairs (my actual pants, control pants - I didn’t care about the pooing then - some sort of nude untergarment, then my costume pants). I was in a scene where I was in my pants onstage and for some reason I was worried my lady parts would just fall out and say hi to the audience.

How do we change the world for the better? Prioritise the environment over money.

Do you find horses scary? I do. No I don’t.

What opera would you recommend seeing? If it’s your first one, I’d recommend La Boheme or Tosca - great music, easy to follow and, crucially, fairly short. But if you’re up for something more modern, anything by Jonathan Dove or Kaija Saariaho.

What’s your favourite role and why? Of the ones I’ve played, Norina from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Amazing music and a really feisty character.

Is it wrong to eat and drink during an opera? What etiquette should I know?! Opera is just like any other type of theatre, so the odd sneaky Minstrel is OK in my book! But it’s not the cinema… we can hear you! So I wouldn’t bust out a bag of popcorn/Monster Munch/entire roast dinner. There are some opera houses (called country house operas) where you have a massive interval with an elaborate picnic, and everyone gets a bit pissed. Sometimes people bring their own candelabra. I feel a bit out of place there.

Also please don’t text/check your emails//watch the football/answer the phone - that goes for all theatre!

How did you two meet? I knew who Mark was as he played in the band Big Red Ass with my sister, then one day we all went on a walk together. Mark taught me about tree footprints being as big under the ground as they are on top. We took some photos on a jetty. And lo! We became friends.

Do you have to be fluent in the language that you sing in? No, but you definitely have to know what every word means in the opera (including what everyone else is singing too).

Why don’t you like Ready Brek anymore? Look, I’ve moved on, I’ve evolved, I’m a different person now, it’s not you, it’s me, I just want something different, I hope we can still be friends…

Why in opera do they repeat the same line over and over again? I think it’s because we’re using the music, rather than the words, to navigate the inner landscape of the character. There’s always a journey through the music. Also, each aria would be about 30 seconds long if we didn’t…

What is your cat’s name? Min. Or, full name, Kitten-Min, based on an old family tale about two spinster sisters called Kit and Min, which involves a man on a horse selling Pond’s Cold Cream. My sister and I made an opera about it once with our family.

How do you practice your songs? In the old days, translate it word for word, learn how to pronounce it, speak the rhythms, get the coloratura up (the really fast notes, that takes a while), go through it with my coach and then my teacher etc. etc. These days, Mark plays them and I sing them, occasionally going “Oh, I’ve ballsed that bit up, can we go back?!” Any of the opera in any of my shows I have sung for years and done a lot of work on them.

How good is your conversational Italian? Parlo un po’…

How did you find your love for opera? My grandma took me to see one when I was having a tough time, and my whole life changed. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if she’d taken me to something else? Chess? Hurdles? Would I have dedicated my life to them instead?

Is opera getting more funky and understandable? Yes I think so! People do all sorts of stuff these days, setting all the old stuff in space/under the sea/inside a cat’s anus etc. What I really love is when we tell new stories, or when we make the the old stories feel new and relevant. That’s my favourite.

Where did you learn to sing like an angel? Lol. Thanks! I learned at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, mainly through the wisdom of Anne Mason.

What size shoes do you wear? I wear size 6. I’ll ask Mark what he wears…

Have you got any tips to help us develop our opera singing technique? Yes, learn how to breathe. Most people breathe the opposite way round - when you breathe in, your torso should expand, then when you breathe out, it shrinks back down. I blame this ‘trying to be thin’ nonsense - breathe in, SUCK IN. No. That will not help you to sing.

How did you first try singing opera? It took me three years to summon the courage to ask for a singing lesson at university (I was a violinist). I finally did and was sent to this lovely teacher who tested my range and then instantly gave me Queen of the Night. It felt great!

Can you ‘opera’ a popular pop song? You can do ANYTHING YOU WANT. Go for it! Will I? Only when doing the dishwasher or to make my friends laugh.

What are your desert island discs? This is a GREAT question… Mark and I will have a think and get back to you…