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I grew up singing. My mother was a music teacher.

My mother was devoted to helping people - with my father's money! - who had great voices but didn't have the financial means to study music. He and my mum gave away dozens of music scholarships, and my mum opened a school in town, introduced opera to children and created fantastic programmes.

I grew up with singers. My father's mother sang opera. My dad was a big band singer. I can't remember a time there wasn't music in the house, so I grew up listening to great songwriters - George Gershwin, Cole Porter - and my grandma was playing opera for me before I was 3.

My mother was a singer, and both of her sisters were singers. There was always music around.

My parents were opera singers and voice teachers, so growing up, I admired musicians and dancers.

It was my Mum who got me into singing properly - she knew I had to do something with my voice because she knew I was talented. She was the one who pushed me into joining a choir all those years ago, when I was about 12. I remember she told me to start with the choir and just see where it took me.

My family was very musical. My brother is an opera singer; my parents both sang.

My mother tried to teach me when I was a small child to sing but failed because of my inability to carry a tune.

I was a kid, and I remember my mother singing. She was also a radio soap opera actress, but my mother sang.

I wasn't actually trained by my mother, she said she never taught me but she was a great singer herself and I can't remember when I didn't listen to her sing and imitate her.