Before Fiddler on the Roof migrates to Sydney, here are a few of the musical tips that have made him a rich man.

I grew up listening to operettas – my parents had the Reader’s Digest Glorious Melodies from Operetta set. I thought that Sigmund Romberg’s shows were great, which were the early musicals when you think about it. I also loved singing along to people like Sherrill Milnes and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. However, I knew I had to create my own sound, so that’s what I set out to do.

I started my career in opera – I was in love with all the histrionics. I was fortunate to have singing lessons from the time I was 11 years old onwards and was a boy soprano for years. I got into lieder for a while at the Conservatorium – I just loved the storytelling – but it was the 1984 Australian Opera production of Fiddler on the Roof that gave me the musicals bug. I realised then what I wanted to do and that was all about discovering a character over a run of more than three or four performances.

For me, opera isn’t just wanting to sing like the Gobbis or...