The soprano explains why she wants us to consider a powerfully nurturing and creative force.

Allison Bell is at Heathrow when we reach her, preparing to step onto the first flight of her 30-hour journey to Hobart. The soprano has lived in London for more than a decade, but returns to her home state at the end of the world to celebrate the winter solstice.

This year’s Dark Mofo will transform the island Tasmania through fire, divination and soul-eating fear. Bell will sing at the centre of it all, with her concert Heart of Darkness honouring the longest night of the year. She’ll draw larger crowds into St. David’s Cathedral than you’d find on a Sunday morning, with works by Schoenberg, Sculthorpe and Tavener set to echo through the centuries-old stone walls.

Before she ascends to the clouds, Bell sheds light on the “very heart of darkness that exists within each and every one of us”.

And so, you return. How does it feel to journey to your childhood home during its darkest hours?

Growing up on Tasmania’s North West Coast (pretty much equidistant between Mount Roland and Cradle Mountain), I knew Tasmania was...