RENOWNED mezzo-soprano Alice Coote is taking to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London later this month.

Starring in Prom 61: Hansel and Gretel with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Alice, a former Helsby High School pupil from Frodsham, talks about the highs and lows on her journey to becoming an internationally recognised artist.

“I wouldn't say I started off with a great voice, but I certainly had a good pair of lungs: I started screaming as soon as I came out of the womb, and didn’t stop for two days,” said Alice, whose parents live in Norley.

“My mother nearly threw me out of the window!”

Despite a hugely successful career, which saw her nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, Alice said: “I’ve pretty much sacrificed everything: time with my parents, a home life, my own personal happiness.”

Asked what the high point of her career has been, she said: “Getting the occasional letter from someone telling me that my voice really means something to them.”

Discussing her dream role in the future, the singer added: “I'd like to play Carmen again in a different production.

“I played her once in a difficult production at English National Opera and I think people now assume that I can’t play her. But I know that Gypsy is in me.”

Alice returns to the role of Hansel, which earned her many plaudits for her performances with The Metropolitan Opera in New York and was beamed live to more than 60 countries, at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday, August 31.

For more information on the show, ring the Royal Albert Hall box office on 0845 401 5040.