We chat to Alex Beard, CEO of the Royal Opera House who has a CBE for his services to the arts. From classics to finance and finding his true calling, we talk leadership, the Tate, new audiences for opera and ballet and controversy!

Books: The Iliad by Homer The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada

Chosen track: Ride of the Valkyries, Wagner. Experience the wonder Alex felt as a child with this as his first taste of opera!

Date recorded: 30/05/19 at the Royal Opera House, London.