"When did you first stand on the stage of the Liceu?"

"In 1983, as Leonora in The Force of Destiny (La forza del destino), and that performance remains an unforgettable experience for me, just like all my other performances in Barcelona. Until 2008, I sang in altogether seventeen productions there, among others Gioconda, Tosca, Electra, Turandot - three times -, Salomé, Ortrud, Leonora in Fidelio, Kostelnicka in Jenufa. In 2008 I played Clytemnestra. Whenever I enter the Liceu, they always greet me with: "Welcome home, Ms Marton!"

"Before singing Clythemnestra, you also played the two other leading female roles of Electra. I believe it's quite unique for someone to be able to sing three different roles of the same opera in the course of their career."

"It is indeed very rare. Singing two roles occurs more often.It's interesting though, for one can experience the same opera from three different points of view. And one always discovers something new in it."

"What is the secret of a good opera house, like the Liceu, for example?"

"Tradition, and perhaps the fact that the Spanish are extremely proud and care about it. As one of the leading opera houses of Europe, situated on La Rambla, the famous pedestrian street, it is a symbol of the Catalan capital, just as Barca, the football team, is or Gaudí's church. Behind the Gran Teatre del Liceu, built in 1886, stands the country's minister of culture, the mayor of the town and, of course, the wonderful audience, but the Liceu has always been maintained by private individuals. It's not the building that gives this sanctuary its real value, but the people who love opera, and art, the people who go there for the performances and those who work there. The boxes are bought by families for decades, sometimes for life, and the best seats are passed on from one generation to the next."

"Until the building burned down in 1994. News of the fire really shocked the opera world."

"Yes, it shocked me as well. I was in London at the time, and the make-up artist told me about it just before the performance... At the time, everyone joined forces so it could be rebuilt. And that's another example which proves that the Liceu is not only an opera house where wonderful performances can be seen, it also brings people together. I was also invited to go and help, and I immediately accepted. We gave charity gala performances in the Olympic Village. They rebuilt the opera house in five years, and it was opened to the public in 1999. The opera house reopened with Turandot, which I sang. It was on the occasion of the tenth anniversary that the gold medals were awarded."

"It is not every year that the medals are awarded, what's more, there was a long break. The last time someone was awarded the medal was thirty years ago, and it was Plácido Domingo who received it."

"It is one of the most prestigious awards that an opera singer can receive, and not only in Spain. And the audience also has a say in who gets the award. Earlier on, it was awarded every five years, Victoria de los Angeles, Giacomo Aragall, Montserrat Caballé, then Domingo received it. Now the tradition has been revived, and six of us were honoured, the soprano Edita Gruberova, mezzo-sopranos Jelena Obrazcova and Dolora Zajick, José Carreras for tenor and Juan Pons for baritone, and myself."

"That is quite a list."

"The audience gave us a standing ovation, the speeches could hardly be heard. Carreras was very touched. He asked me if I remembered singing the Gioconda in the 1980's, on this stage, with him and Piero Cappuccilli. I looked at him and replied: "How could one ever forget that?"

"The 1980's are often referred to as the golden age of the opera. Why do you think the genre has lost some of its appeal?"

"After the fall of the Iron Curtain, hundreds, thousands of talented singers with beautiful voices came from the East and signed contracts with Western opera houses. The profession has been "diluted". Also, we no longer have great "educator" conductors. But the most important thing is that the opera houses are ruled by the directors. It's not the singer's voice that counts, but whether they're fat or thin, whether or not they're willing to undress on stage. Just recently, there was an opera premiere in Budapest that was based on nothing but gags and aiming to shock. Something has changed, become distorted. What makes a theatre good is when different styles and director's concepts clash. Today there are no arguments, everyone always accepts what the directors dictate."

"That's not completely true, for the audience of Barcelona, which is one of the world's most appreciative and passionate opera audiences, adores certain singers and hates others. There are singers who don't dare to perform at the Liceu."

"The Catalans are similar to the Hungarians in that they are quite temperamental. They can get all worked up in no time. The audience of the Liceu is often divided into camps that have heated arguments. It is true that there were famous singers who did not dare to set foot in Barcelona, for they knew they would be booed at if they tried. At first I was terrified, knowing how passionate these people were, but then I realized that all they were doing was living with the theatre. And if someone humbly performs to the best of their ability, then they grow to love that person, just as they love their opera house. If someone is sincere and open, then their reaction is also sincere. But they are also straightforward about expressing their dislike."

"Today it is no longer fashionable to boo during a performance as a way of expressing one's opinion. At least not in Hungary."

"Sooner or later, someone is going to start doing it in Hungary as well. Audiences are braver abroad. Just recently, a performance of Tosca - with plain, modern sets - was a complete fiasco at the Metropolitan in New York. The audience booed loudly.  That very rarely happens here! Although it's true that increasingly there are people in the audience who say that this performance is sure to be a good one for the tickets cost two hundred dollars. This would never happen at the Liceu."

"But they may actually boo at the directorship. How did that happen?"

"On the opening night of Jenufa, they didn't allow us to bow after the second act. The audience were indignant. They shouted all through the interval, would not leave, and when the directorship appeared, they were told to be ashamed of themselves. At the following, second performance, we were allowed to come and stand before the curtain."

"A few years ago, you accepted the post of head of the Vocal and Opera Studies department (solo singing) of the Liszt Academy of Music. I've heard that you really stand up and fight for your students. What is it that drives you?"

"I can feel that they love me and that they need me. They get disappointed really easily, because the world around them is bitter. When a concert is not a great success, you have to realize that it's not something irreversibly bad that has happened, and that it's from bad concerts that you can learn the most. On these occasions you can discover what is lacking and what the mistakes are, and it is possible to correct them. The most difficult task for young artists is to form an opinion about themselves, their abilities, their place and the direction that they are headed in."

"And also to get a good contract when they graduate, with the help of which they can make a living. This is not evident, even if they are very talented."

"Now, that's the greatest problem. It's all very well for me to do my best and teach them, if my students go and sing operetta because it's gigs that pay well. Nothing has changed here, this country has had the same problems for decades. Young people nowadays have a very different attitude to life than what we had. They want everything right away: a career and lots of money. The consumer's world is drawing them in that direction. And yet real talent shows when they recognize what is valuable, and can deal with it. Or if they allow themselves to be guided properly."

"Earlier, you and your husband, Zoltán Marton applied for the post of director of the Budapest Opera House. What do you think would be needed if we wanted our opera house to be on the same level as the Liceu? More money, perhaps?"

"We have already offered lots of ideas. But the most important thing is to ensure that the institute has a secure financial background, and that the artists who work there and the work that is done there gets the respect they deserve."