Stuart Macbeth chats to passionate international opera singer Lesley Garrett

It's been a busy decade for Lesley Garrett. Not content with hosting her own TV show and reaching the semi-finals of Strictly Come Dancing she has also enjoyed record-breaking spells in the West End.

But now, at 60, Lesley tells me she has “come back to opera, my first love, the thing I’m most passionate about.”

We meet in rehearsals for Cosi Fan Tutte, the Garsington Opera production which broadcasts live in the grounds of Magdalen College School next Thursday The broadcast forms part of Opera For All, a £750,000 initiative which will deliver free public screenings across the UK this summer. No ticket is required – just pack a picnic and go.

Lesley promises a full audio visual experience on the big screen.

“Without proper visuals you miss half the experience,” she smiles.

“I’m sometimes asked what operas I enjoy listening to but I almost never listen to opera – it would be like listening to a film. Why would you listen to a film without watching it?”

Mozart’s cheeky comedy is set to appeal to all. And, although sung in Italian, English surtitles will appear at the top of the screen.

The timeless plot concerns a bet made among men to determine whether two devoted sisters cannot stay faithful to their spouses. Lesley plays Despina, maid to the sisters.

“We update the original 18th-century setting of Così Fan Tutte to the present day, which makes it brilliantly relevant“ says Lesley, gesturing towards the rest of the cast who are busily engaged across the room in a cacophony of costumes.

“The whole opera takes place during the course of a single day, at a military wedding. My character, Despina, is the wedding planner. I’m onstage most of the time, even when I’m not singing.”

‘I’ve been aiming for the slim but curvy Gina Lollobrigida look but the Garsington team are endlessly generous about providing chocolate biscuits and cake, which is not making it easy!

“I’m extremely disciplined until I’m tempted, when I have a will of putty.”

Earlier I’ve observed Lesley dancing around the rehearsal room, props in hand, sending her fellow performers into fits of giggles.

In one scene Lesley pretends to knock back a bottle of Chardonnay. I could watch her for hours. And of course, she has that spectacular voice which has seen her much in demand, singing the national anthem at three FA Cup finals and at Bradley Wiggins’ historic 2012 Tour de France victory.

Lesley insists that it’s not singing lessons but longstanding roles such as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music which have honed her craft.

“What I’m so excited about is that the musicals have made me a better actress,” she says.

“The standard of musicals in the West End is so high that you have to up your game and it’s wonderful to bring that back to opera”.

Lesley has played Despina before, in 1986. But years of experience have helped refine the role.

“What I’ve found, to my delight, is that playing Despina as an older woman makes a lot more sense. She’s an incredibly knowing woman, with vast experience of men, and it’s very difficult as a younger person to make that clear. She is also very clever, very crafty and has all sorts of life skills that take years to develop.”

Lesley is adamant that projects like Opera For All are essential “if opera is going to survive as an art form”.

“I am thrilled that Cosi is being screened for free at Magdalen College School and I hope as many people and families as possible experience the very first free screening of our production”.

“It is vital that opera is seen by as wide an audience as possible. I hope that those who experience it for the very first time tonight will want to come back.”

Opera For All: Cosi Fan Tutte. Thursday, July 2, from 6pm. Free. Magdalen College School, Cowley Place. operaforall.org