We caught up with Liverpool-born mezzo-soprano Kathryn Rudge ahead of her appearance in this year’s Spirit of Christmas concerts.

You are joining us for the Spirit of Christmas concerts this year – have you worked with Ian Tracey before?
I can’t wait for the Spirit of Christmas concerts with Ian – I know how much the concerts are loved by so many people, and it’s a privilege and a dream come true to be a part of such a wonderful tradition and it will be lots of fun. I’ve known Ian for many years and admired the wonderful work he does, especially for Liverpool Philharmonic and in our city. We first performed together at Liverpool Cathedral for the Royal Liverpool Hospital Charity concert, and it is an honour to perform with him at Christmas.

What is the most rewarding part of being a professional singer? And the most challenging?
The most rewarding part is spending time doing something I love, and I never lose sight of what a gift it is to be able to be a part of it and to share and connect with people through music and words. The most challenging part is saying fond farewells so often to wonderful people, places and music – as one role/concert finishes and the next begins. I trust in it all and treasure the memories.

Talk us through the day of a performance – how do you prepare? Do you have any pre-concert rituals?
The day of a performance always begins waking up with a flurry of butterflies and the feeling of ‘it’s today!’ – and a quick check to see if my voice is doing OK. I try to have all my concert wear/music laid out the night before so there is hopefully nothing awry on the day. I keep hydrating and I’ll look through rehearsal notes and warm up before I set off to the venue, humming through the music as I travel. After rehearsal, I spend the countdown getting ‘concert ready’ and into the dress, until the call to the stage. I usually have a last-minute peek at the concert platform from offstage to double-check I know the route onto the stage, and I like seeing the audience settling into their seats – there’s nothing like the buzz of the atmosphere in the concert hall just before the performance. I have a habit of joining in humming the ‘A’ with the orchestra when they are tuning, and then when everything goes very quiet just before we walk out onto the stage, I smile, say a little prayer and wish everyone the very best time, to enjoy every moment – and it’s here!

Who or what are your greatest inspirations as a singer?
There are so many professional artists I love listening to, especially mezzos Janet Baker and Kathleen Ferrier. I enjoy reading musical biographies; Michael Kennedy’s composer books are brilliant – his Elgar book is great! The music teachers and singing teachers I’ve studied with; Polly Beck and Sue Roper – they helped me find my voice and dedicated hours to believing in me and guiding me on the path. I’ve worked with so many incredible colleagues, individuals and teams along the way, onstage and offstage – I’m forever grateful to the people that have gone the extra mile to give me an opportunity or to help me to learn. I often pinch myself and hope that I can be like them one day! Over more recent years, I have been working with younger singers in workshops and teaching in schools and universities. I’m so inspired by the students, their ideas and enthusiasm, and I learn so much from them. Also, my family, Mum and Dad and my husband Lee – their love, support and encouragement is in every note I sing. They are a special part of the audiences I love singing for. Audiences really inspire me – I love singing for them, they are the reason to keep giving all you’ve got and singing with your whole heart.

You always have such wonderful concert dresses – do you have a system for choosing what to wear for concerts?
I am very lucky to have a wonderful friend, Shelagh Routledge from Ormskirk, who has been making my concert dresses for nearly 20 years. She also made my wedding dress – she has devoted so much of her life to creating amazing gowns, and it’s always exciting to know people have enjoyed seeing them on stage. We have fun designing them together and choosing materials – we often have a concert or a theme in mind and choose colours or styles to suit the piece and occasion. For Elgar’s Sea Pictures, we chose blues/coral colours with lace swirls, like the sea!

As a soloist in something like the Bach St Matthew Passion that you sang recently, you have a few movements where you are not singing and looking forward into the audience. Do you find it daunting to have to do this when you are waiting to sing?
It’s an amazing feeling being a soloist in an oratorio and having the time during rehearsal and the concert to sit on stage with everyone – and to be physically in the heart of the amazing sound and energy of the orchestra, choir and conductor. I love looking up from the score during the performance when I can to just listen and see the audience – it’s an amazing feeling knowing that we’re all in it together. The daunting part is remembering to look back at the score and find your place before you stand up and sing.

And finally, if you were not a professional singer is there anything else you would like to have done as a career?
I can’t imagine what life would be like without singing and music - I feel so grateful that I had the chance to be a singer. I’ve always loved acting and theatre too, so I probably would have explored that a bit more. I’d love to have been an illustrator – I have collected nearly as many illustration books as I have music books, and I can happily spend hours drawing, painting and writing when I’m not singing, so I think that would be a great job.