Matthews is winning further plaudits for her take on the notoriously difficult role of the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, a character she's tackling for the first time.

"I'm the baddie, it's great. I've not done that before, I'm usually the pure virgin," she says with a laugh. "I've been Pamina a lot and I've been sung to by, I think, nine or 10 different queens, so I know where the difficulties are. It's quite exciting to try and conquer her. It's such a fiendish part."

You had a nomadic childhood growing up in England, Fiji, Vanuatu and then Australia. When did you come to Sydney?

I came and did an audition [with Opera Australia] when I was 20. For my 21st birthday present Mum and Dad gave me the flight to come and audition. Then when I was 22, I came over and did Damigella in The Coronation of Poppea. And I moved here the following year, in the mid '90s.

What did you think when you first arrived?

I just thought it was incredible. Perth was the only city other than Cairns that I'd ever lived in. When I first came here I was living in Darlinghurst, I just thought it was such a vibrant place to live. I was living in a household of Perth musicians who'd all moved over here. It was nice, but it wasn't long after I moved here that I met my husband.

How did you two meet?

We met in the green room at the Opera House. He was a flatmate to Michael Martin, who is a fabulous tenor, and I'd sung with Michael in Perth. He said to Stephen, "Look out for Emma, she's not going to know anyone." And I went up to a table of male choristers and he was in the chorus. I sat down and I thought, "I didn't know he was going to be so handsome." We hit it off straightaway. We've just had our 18th [wedding] anniversary.

Where do you live?

I'm down near Oatley. It was interesting because we were looking inner west, but everything seemed small – our price range was nothing very exciting. Then my husband saw a picture of this house in the Sutherland Shire Leader because we were in Woolooware at that point and I said, "Where's that?" It was a beautiful little 1930s timber place and we just fell in love with it. We've created a lovely little front garden. I love my gardening.

Do you have a favourite nursery?

Altra Nursery [in Mortdale]. It's a beautiful place. I could wander around it forever. I never leave with just one plant. We bought a whole pile of magnolias to do our back courtyard.

Where's your local cafe?

Edmonds & Greer [in Oatley]. It's not only a cafe, it's a little shop as well. They do homewares and candles and things. I've become friendly with the owners and they come to the opera now. Whenever I've got time off that's the place I go with my girlfriends and I would go into the shop once every couple of weeks probably for one thing or another.

Do you have a favourite outdoor spot nearby?

We go to Oatley Park, certainly when the kids were younger we used to go there a lot. That's beautiful as you have water views all the way around it. Our local park, Moore Reserve, is my little exercise spot. I go walking down there and the boys ride their bikes.

Where's the best place to head to for a family meal?

We have a favourite Italian restaurant near us, called The Italian Job [in Hurstville Grove]. It's fabulous food. Sometimes we go up to Hurstville and try the different Asian foods. That's always interesting. My younger son is a bit fussier about his food, but as long as vermicelli noodles are there, we're OK.

Where do you go for a romantic night out?

Our last romantic night out was to see my friends Jacqui [Dark] and Kanen [Breen] at The Vanguard. They did a raunchy cabaret show called Strange Bedfellows. They're a gorgeous pair, but they're the filthiest people I know. The way they promoted it was they got all their colleagues to talk about their disappointment that they were doing a show like this and how disgusting and outrageous [it was]. I did one where I was crying and saying, "I can't believe you stooped this low." And it sold like hotcakes!

What do you like about performing on the Opera House stage?

I love its intimacy. It's quite a small theatre, you feel like you're really bringing the audience to you because of the size of it. There's a comfort as well because it's sort of my house, it's my office, it's the place I sing more than anywhere else. There's a reassurance, you can hear the audience's response very well in that house. Other places you don't hear the applause or you think, "Did they like me? I'm not sure." I work in the most glorious building in the whole world. How lucky I am.

The Magic Flute is at the Opera House until January 30.