If they’re not singing in front of an audience, can anyone really know if they’re a good singer? 
They’ll never be a good singer if they’re not getting feedback. Personally, I depend on the audience. I need the interaction, the mirror that they hold up to me. It’s the same kind of reflection that features in THE DWARF.

The dwarf ends up a broken man. Have you ever dreaded how an audience might react?
No. If I start worrying on stage about what the audience is thinking about my current performance, then I may as well pack up and go home. Stage work is about trusting people. I have confidence in my fellow singers, the musicians, the production, in myself. Self-doubt should be confined to rehearsals.

What does THE DWARF tell us about the present day? 
The cruelty in this opera stems from the fact that the dwarf is unaware of his small stature. There’s something universal about this self-deception – and that is acutely relevant in our social-media age. Our perception of ourselves and our perception of others are increasingly divergent.

How much reliance on validation is healthy?
I’ve got to assess myself in terms of the reactions of other people, but I can’t be dependent on the judgements they pass. If I try to pander to the expectations of an audience in the way I approach my role, the authenticity of my performance will suffer. Audiences are too clued up to be duped by me as a singer. They see through it immediately.

Musically speaking, what is the biggest challenge of this role?
The role is a real test. The voice is pitched very high, the orchestra plays really loud and the part itself is multi-faceted, transporting me to wondrous realms. The musical landscape goes from gentle, hesitant and poetic to ever more intense, frenetic, crazed and dramatic. I like that kind of stuff, though; it’s actually of help to me and my voice.

How do you assert yourself in the face of such a big orchestra?
You can’t, if the conductor lets the musicians play fortissimo. But Zemlinsky is different to Mozart or Verdi or the early Wagner: even when the orchestra let’s rip, you can more or less hold your own. In THE DWARF us singers need to have a good conductor who gives us the necessary leeway.