I was travelling with my parents and discovered that Don Giovanni was being performed while we were there. I simply had to try to see it

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At age 20, I fell head over heels in love with opera. It happened after seeing Joseph Losey’s film adaptation of Don Giovanni. Something clicked in me. I became a fervent subscriber to the Australian Opera and saw every opera I possibly could.

A few years later, I was travelling in France with my parents and discovered that Don Giovanni was being performed in Avignon while we were there, with José van Dam, who had played Leporello in the film, starring as Don Giovanni. I simply had to get a ticket to see it.