How did you manage to get to Berlin?
I spent ages on the phone and found a flight with a stopover in Doha in Qatar, where the airport was still open. But I had four days to wait for the flight – so I was hoping the airport wouldn’t close in the meantime or Australia wouldn’t go into lockdown and stop me getting to the airport. And there was also Germany, which was barring entry to non-residents.

So how did you get in?
The 24-hour flight was really nerve-wracking. I’m a British citizen, so I didn’t need a visa, but I was still worried the rules were going to change while I was in the air! Are they going to let me in? The immigration desk at Tegel was another place where my heart was pounding. “Do you speak German?” – “Yes.” – “Do you live in Berlin?” – “Yes.” Then he just waved me through and I was home at last!

So, with that flight from captivity in mind, what does homeland mean for you?
With the crisis in full swing, I just wanted to get home. And home for me is Berlin. Homeland for me is more linked to my current life situation than to where my roots are. I don’t feel at home anymore in Australia. Although I was born there and grew up there, I’ve been living in Europe since 2006, which amounts to most of my adult life. I’m not particularly sentimental by nature, but since then I’ve come to realise that home is where I hang my hat.

What did that flight to freedom teach you?
Uncertainty is the buzz topic at the moment and it came across pretty clearly during the journey. What is security? What is certainty? I’m a freelance singer, so lack of security goes with the territory. We’re learning what’s it like to not be able to work for months on end, out of the blue. This journey we’re on only goes to confirm our lack of security.

Does the fact that you’re a freelancer in any way prepare you for uncertain periods like these?
All singers have to plan for a rainy day, because they could always be off sick for an extended period of time. I have to have a contingency plan to allow me to live for a year without income, to prevent me from ending up on the street. I’ve just lost two guest appearances that were scheduled for the same day. In the end we have very little influence over things – and it’s a problem familiar to Wotan in Wagner’s THE RHINEGOLD.

You were signed to sing the role of Wotan in June and now THE RHINEGOLD has been put back to the coming season. What’s your take-away from the character of Wotan?
He wants certainty and security, and to get those things his strategy is to control and manipulate everyone who crosses his path. But he ends up failing in his attempt to control. In fact, the opposite happens: the decisions he has taken usher in the downfall, the twilight of the gods. As for financial planning, he’s a disaster: he has the Hall of Valhalla constructed – without having the funding lined up. Yet he is capable of long-term planning. So he’s helping me to realise that one day these months of lockdown will be little more than a memory.

What message do you get from THE RHINEGOLD?
Wagner’s RING recounts what happens when the world comes to an end as a result of dodgy decision making. Specific questions occur to me, such as: how are we treating our environment and the climate? We’re seeing at first hand how our actions can have lethal consequences – or can be part of the solution. Obviously it’s bad for art if theatres stay closed for months on end. But the flip side is that it’ll presumably save a great many lives.

What sustains you through the uncertainty of these times?
THE RING teaches me that all things come to an end. I’m constantly reading at the moment about how our artistic occupations will never be the same again and a lot of venues will be closing down for good. I’m not sure that last bit will actually happen. Live music, concerts, etc have survived other hardships – war, for instance – and we are going to weather this storm as well.