Q. Where did your love of classical music come from?

RW: From my Mum and my Grandma. Growing up, I was fed a concoction of classic music. And in the evening it was Dad’s music, which was a combination of Johnny Cash and Dire Straits.

Q. Did you ever think growing up, that your passion for music would be your career?

RW: No because as a child at school, I had no aspirations of grandeur in terms of singing. I sort of went through life on a wing and a prayer. As a kid, I didn’t really fashion any ideas of becoming an operatic tenor and travel all around the world doing concerts and recitals.

Q. Do you think then singing was one of those things that found you? That it was meant to be?

RW: Yeah, in many respects, my career has been quite organic. It almost seems like I stumbled on it but I always get that sense that I was meant to end up here.

Q. Looking back, do you have that same feeling in regards to your health?

RW: Someone asked me the question “if you could change what has happened to you, with brain tumours, would you?” I think if I’d been asked six years ago would you like a brain tumour, of course I would have said “I bloody well don’t thank you.” But having been through that and come out the other side, would I have changed what happened to me? No. Because it’s made me the person I am today and as result it’s given me a completely fresh outlook on life and a new appreciation for the gift of life.

Q. During that tough time, what kept you going?

RW: I do have massive drive. A couple of years after I’d left school I was working in a factory and picking up 90 pounds a week. The drive that took me from the factory floor to centre stage at places like Sydney Opera House, and to be one of the best selling classical acts in the world, that drive I think saw me through my bad health. And I’m a terribly bad loser. I didn’t want to lose. I wanted to win. The last words in Nessun Dorma, sum it up. Vincerò! I shall win. I shall keep going no matter what happens and that’s the outlook I took.

Q. In regards to your illness, are you ever going to be in the all clear?

RW: There will never be an all clear because they couldn’t get everything out, so what is left is being shrunk by radiotherapy. But my health now is pretty much the same as anybody’s. I feel fit as a butcher’s dog now, I’m enjoying life and feeling strong. The voice is better than ever without question and life is good.

Q. Tell me how your life experience has affected your new album, La Voce.

RW: I’ve injected the new enthusiasm that I have for life and the new passion I have for life into my music. Also, I think I achieved a great deal of spirituality from that very dark period in my life and as a result there is a real sense of passion within the recording. The joyful songs felt even more joyful. I’m very proud of it and very pleased with it. It feels like an emotional journey and it certainly was for me.

Q. You’re in Australia to promote your album, what do you think of our country?

RW: I love it. If I could live anywhere in the world other than the UK, it would be Australia. I love the lifestyle, I love the weather, I just love it. And hopefully I can do a concert soon. I’m desperate to get back into the Sydney Opera House, it’s one of my most amazing career moments, so I’m desperate to get back there.