Angela Gheorghiu on Baroque music and Beyoncé

9 May 2013, 19:30 | Updated: 16 October 2013, 14:24

Buying a London taxi like Pavarotti, discovering the best of pop music and jazz, and explaining the differences between playing opera roles and giving recitals, we caught up with the incredible Angela Gheorghiu on one of her few days off.

As Angela explains to Anne-Marie Minhall, while it might be difficult to get used to the jet-set lifestyle of an opera star, a passion for performing across the world continues to be a huge inspiration.

"For me, it's like a mission," she said. "All the time, it was 'You must do this', like somebody pushed me to be on stage, to make everybody in front of me dream with me, and to give pleasure."

As she gears up for her performances of La Rondine at the Royal Opera House over the summer, Angela explains why exactly singers are afraid of Puccini's work. But it's not just Romantic opera that excites the world-class soprano. Sharing her wide musical tastes, including pop acts like Bruno Mars and Béyonce, as well as Baroque music and jazz, Gheorghiu explained what she feels makes a good artist - regardless of genre.

Reading this on the Classic FM app? Watch Part One and Part Two of the interview on YouTube.