Expectations and ambitions were heavily loaded. Channel 4 and ENO were ideal partners in the search for ways to break down prejudices against opera, but Jan Younghusband had patiently watched Nicholas Payne and me turn down one programme idea after another, determined to reel us in. We all knew that Boxing Day televised productions were sending the nation to sleep, but for an opera company renowned for challenging perceptions and opening doors to new audiences, we were wary. In those days, we were well known and acclaimed for our work beyond the main repertory, using every part of the company in education projects, new writing and commissions, working up the first young singers programme in the UK, bringing 350 young people at a time to the Coliseum’s stage to sing and act with our orchestra. The Baylis programme, which directed much of this work, was driven by the inspiring and visionary Steve Moffitt. Mary King’s The Knack was ENO’s ground-breaking annual training programme for amateur performers and singers. We made projects that felt like Operatunity every week. Just without the cameras.

But not quite like the Operatunity that Michael Waldman and Diverse introduced to us. Their blueprint already contained much of the shape and flavour of the series: the nationwide search for singers who had lost, or never found the opportunity to sing for their lives, finally given the chance to compete for a role in a live ENO performance, and the subsequent CD recording, produced by John Fraser, one of classical music’s foremost recording producers. It would tell the story of each of these (hopefully) talented participants as they encountered the skills and talents of the professionals who would guide them.