“When I started volunteering it was a way to meet new people and get involved in the community having just moved into the area. It was really the chance to work in beautiful gardens that lured me, but 9 years later it is much more than that.

I have been introduced to a world I knew nothing about; from meeting a young singer at an audition to, a few months later, watching the first dazzling performance of the opera. Along the way I and all the other volunteers might well have stuffed brochures into envelopes, helped at auditions, hosted singers and musicians, fed very hungry artists, sorted and sewn costumes, carried out a myriad other little jobs in preparation, and last but certainly not least, stewarded at the events welcoming hundreds of excited opera lovers and for some, their first opera experience.

I want, as a volunteer to spend my time being part of something that makes a difference and to feel I’m being of use to a wonderful organisation that values and appreciates me.”