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So, tell us about Katherine In The Park.

I'm launching my own festival in South Wales. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. It's going to be held at Margam Park, because I wanted the venue to be as close to my home as possible.

It'll take place on 8 July. It's going to be no-concept; we just want to get everyone here: friends, family, to come along, bring a picnic, get a bottle of champagne, and just relax and enjoy the show.

The show's going to be me, singing songs off all my albums, Welsh songs, plus some things that I'm still to record. I've got my national symphony orchestra, the Serendipity Choir are singing, and an amazing special guest - he's a Peruvian tenor called Juan Diego Florez. He is truly incredible. He is the first person in 70 years to get an encore at La Scala. I just know he's going to go down really well with a Welsh audience.

What I want the festival to be about is bringing young, fresh and amazing talent to Wales, and he really ticks all those boxes. It's my way of saying thank you to everyone in Wales because I really don't think any of this would have happened to me without growing up in Wales, without having the opportunities and all the support and encouragement I've received.

How many people will be at the event?

At the moment we have, I think 2,000, it could even be 4,000 reserved seats, and then behind that there's a whole bank for picnics. So really it's an expandable site. We want as many people as possible to come and really enjoy it. For me classical music should be enjoyed: relaxing, you don't have to wear anything special, just come and chill out, eat nice food and enjoy the show!

Are there plans for a fifth album in time for the festival?

I don't think I'll have an album in time for July, but I'm considering making another album this year. I really enjoy going into the studio so I would like to make another. And that's why I may be performing songs at the festival that won't be available yet, but maybe on the album that might be out for Christmas. Do you have any special extras planned for the concert?

We're going to be doing all different types of music. I'm going to be doing duets with Juan Diego, which is very exciting for me, and my concert wouldn't be my show without lots of frock changes! Plus, in the day we plan to do more local entertainment, maybe involving local children. That's still to be decided. But it's really going to be a big family day.

It's going to be an annual festival. We start off this year with the one concert, but I hope for next year and the years to come it'll become a two-day, at least, festival, with one night maybe being a rock or pop night, and the other one being a classical night.

Much like Bryn Terfel's Faenol festival?

Very similar. And, in fact, when I did the Faenol festival last time I spoke to Bryn about it and he thought it was a great idea. Bryn and I are friend, so they're not going to be rival festivals. If anything, I think we have the same aim, which is to bring great music to Wales, to fly the flag and to put Wales on the map.

Do you think you'll invite Bryn to appear at one of your festivals?

Oh, I love singing with Bryn. Of course I would.

What do you think of the success of the Fron Choir? You sang a Christmas song with them on Parkinson in 2006, didn't you?

I did, yeah! I think it's absolutely incredible. They're doing so well. I love the sound of a male voice choir, and I'm very happy for them.

Their breakthrough into the charts seemed unexpected, as male voice choirs have been around for so long.

Yeah. It just goes to show that everybody does love a male voice choir. They've done very well.

What are your thoughts on the classical crossover genre? Singing bite-sizes of bigger works has served you very well, but would you ever like to perform a full opera?

Oh, I definitely want to do a full opera. I'm still doing concerts that are very classical, core classical in nature. This year, more so, I'm going to be doing more of that type of thing. But for me I think the classical crossover movement is great because it really is encouraging people into buying something that they may not have bought before.

They might buy a crossover album and then go on to buy something more core classical, and then go on to buy opera. It's encouraging people because they feel it's more accessible, they can identify with the artists a bit better, and that's where more people are turning onto classical music. I think it's great. And your festival, where you're inviting whole families to enjoy the experience, continues to make it open to everyone.

It is open to everyone. I'm going to be singing a range of music, from Welsh folk songs to opera arias, to things from Broadway and pop songs in Italian. It's a really wide range of things, in a really beautiful setting. That's what, for me, it's all about - to try and take this music to a wider audience, and not putting it out there for posh people. It's not going to be stuffy - it's going to be relaxed.

Did you read about the recent ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Music Magazine poll to find the greatest 20 sopranos of the recorded age? Maria Callas was top, but there was some controversy that so few living singers were featured in it. How do you feel to be up against such a great canon of singers?

Well, Maria Callas is my favourite singer, so I totally agree with that. When you look at her she's such a drama, with such emotion to her voice, it's a very rare thing. I would have voted her my number one too.

You've said in the past that you wouldn't want a pop career like someone like Charlotte Church. But you have done performances like the Blue Man collaboration where you did Donna Summer's I Feel Love. Are they just one-off experiments?

They're completely one-off things. For me, with the Blue Man Group, I got asked. It was for the Royal Variety Show, which was something I always wanted to be a part of. I'm really interested in things people don't necessarily expect. I did a pop song, but I did it in my own style.

It wasn't me singing like a pop singer, it was me singing with my classically-trained voice. For me it's fun, and that's another part of encouraging young people into classical music. By doing things like that, they may come to the show, and they may get more interested in other types of this music. They're one-offs and I like to experiment, and they're really good fun!

And as far as your own albums go, it'll always be classical-based?

Oh yeah. I love to listen to pop music and I admire people who do that, but I don't think I would ever be a very good pop star. I always leave that singing voice for the shower! [laughs] I wouldn't put it out in the world!