As Britain's best-known soprano, Lesley Garrett is an obvious choice to give opera a voice, not just on stage where she has shone brightly for more than three decades, but away from the stage too.
Because opera still is still viewed with a certain amount of snobbery by some people.
"It's getting better though," Lesley starts, "There are fewer people with those misconceptions now, because I and others like me have been banging on the drum so hard, for so long...opera is just amazing music," she says.
"...and amazing drama. It should never be thought of as just music. It is the original audio-visual art form in an era when audio-visual is everything.
"It was out there at the very beginning, combining all the different art forms, because originally opera was about the orchestra, the vocal and visual element - before you even start, the curtain goes up and you have a beautiful work of art to look at."
Lesley is firmly warmed to her subject: "All these things come together to form the most powerful drama imaginable," she says, "Drama that has inspired operetta, the musical...it has had all of these lovely babies, these sub-forms that I am very much a part of and am happy to be so..."
From Wednesday (March 18), Welsh National Opera sing into MK Theatre, for a four day stay - delivering The Magic Flute, Hansel & Gretel, and on Wednesday evening, Chorus! starring Lesley.
"It's like a taster menu for those who have been nervous about opera but want to try it, because it's got short excerpts of such a wide range of different operas, and scenes that involve a chorus, as well as myself and the dancer.
"It also appeals to those who love opera and want to hear their favourite choruses..."
Lesley gets to run the gamut of characters during the evening - she plays a Sgt Major in a piece lifted from La Forza del Destino, and then strides into the sleazy, dark underworld of sex with Mahagonny's Alabama.
She gives a giggle: "That's a very sexy, sleazy character I play, with fishnet stockings and lots of leg...
Lesley's long time friend David Pountney came up with the idea to utilise her talents for this tour.
The pair previously worked together in the 80's and 90's.
"Like me, David is keen to demonstrate the links between opera and contemporary music theatre...I think I was his first thought as I have experience in all the different areas. And he wanted someone who could play a Nun!"
Lesley famously assumed the role of the Mother Abbess in the West End run of The Sound of Music, and has recently reprised the role in New Zealand.
"I'm having the most wonderful time, because for me, this couldn't be a better development of the work I've been doing all my life. It shows how vocal music is related," she explains, "They are all first cousins - oratorio, opera, music theatre, straight froward songs..."
Lesley keeps busy away from the stage too - her husband is a doctor, and she has an avid interest in medicine.
Finding charitable causes that bring music and medicine together is a passion: "One of the charities I am very keen on in the Lost Chord.
"We employ young musicians and singers to go into dementia care homes to perform for the residents - they are reborn through music, albeit temporarily, and the musicians derive enormous experience and satisfaction out of communicating with these wonderful people through the magic of music.
"To be honest, if you can hold an alzheimers audience, you can confidently go out into the world and hold any audience.
And there is another 'close to her heart' cause that she is fiercely outspoken about - raising the profile of the older soprano.
"It's a bit like the Hollywood actresses," she says, giving a nod to L.A's more mature sisters.
"But in our case we didn't exist in a way, prior to the last 10 or 15 years, because of the marvellous advent of HRT.
"Historically, no-one ever wrote for mature sopranos, because once we hit the menopause, we lost the tops of our voices. So there are lots of older mezzo roles, but very few, if any, older soprano roles.
"Women are now captains of industry, we have equality, we run countries. We are big players in society. But there are no powerful, mature female figures in opera. If opera wants to be considered as a contemporary art form, writers have to write for older women. If opera is going to reflect today's society it has to include these older, powerful women.
"Thats my mission at the minute. By talking about this I am trying to get dialogue going and trying to get composers to recognise this big gap..."
Incredibly, Lesley turns 60 this year. Her voice is kept warm and strong and real thanks to regular singing lessons with Joy Mammen, her teacher for more than 35 years.
"She knows my voice better than I know it," Lesley says, "I am still improving and continuing to develop. You have to be physically quite robust to be an opera singer - we don't have microphones and have to fill 2500 seat theatres just with our lungs. It's tricky to do that if you are weak. You have to be physically and mentally strong. It's like being an athlete."
And she will show her vocal prowess when she appears in the aforementioned Chorus! on Wednesday evening.
"For me, opera is what happens when the spoken word isn't enough - when the emotion alone is so great that the spoken word won't convey it. That's when you need opera," she says, "I'll spend my life trying to convince people it is for them and I have 100% success rate..."
The super successful Mum of two is in a great place just now: "Life is very full and I am really grateful, because this year marks my 35th year of being a professional soprano. I've never been busier," she states.
"I am very, very lucky..."
Lesley only appears in Chorus! on Wednesday, but don't miss these other WNO aces in the pack:
The Magic Flute (Thursday 19 & Friday 20 March)
'Mozart's sublime music alongside an angry lobster, a newspaper-reading lion and a fish that is also a bicycle.'
Hansel & Gretel (Saturday, March 21)
A spellbinding, deliciously dark interpretation of the well-loved fairy tale. Themes of gluttony, cannibalism and excess lie beneath the story's surface.
> The curtain rises at 7.15pm nightly. To book call 0844 871 7652.
Words: Sammy Jones
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