Ask countertenor William Purefoy a question about his role as Xerxes’ brother Arsamene in the upcoming NBR New Zealand Opera production of Handel’s Xerxes, and go into the draw to win tickets to the opening night in Wellington on March 15.

* Use the comment box below to ask your question.

* * *

With an established reputation in the UK, including performances with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Hanover Band, English Concert and The Sixteen, William Purefoy is also frequently to be seen internationally with concerts, recitals and operatic appearances in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, and his debut atCarnegie Hall in New York in 2008.

A graduate of Magdalen College Oxford and Guildhall School of Music and Dramain London, he was a finalist in the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and a winner of theNFMS Young Concert Artists Award.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

Could be pretty much any time, depending on all sorts of things like mood, company and environment. What's slightly irritating therefore is that without any hint as to when it might be coming, I quite often miss it.

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

Handsome, intelligent, sharp, relaxed, caring, dashing, perfect. I don't have too many good friends.

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

Everyone working together and coming up with a show.

How does your environment affect your work?

It's mostly about frame of mind, I think. It's hard to raise your game when it's dark, cold and wet and you're rehearsing in a run down venue in a depressing area. Which is what was so tempting about coming to New Zealand Opera during our wonderful English winter...

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

I actually find this very difficult to answer. I think the bigger picture is very important but it is inevitably made up of details which I might perhaps be accused of worrying about a bit too much!

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Remember why you're doing it.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

If you asked me this again on a different day it would probably not be the same answer. Today it would have to be a production of Mozart's Ascanio in Alba I did at the Buxton Festival in England. Great music, beautifully designed show, great cast, all round good fun.

Who or what has inspired you recently?

The film The King's Speech and Mark Rylance's performance in the play Jerusalem.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I was born in Dorset, grew up in Somerset with my mother, two sisters and one brother, went to Christ's Hospital School, Oxford University, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and now live in Oxford with my gorgeous wife and two wonderful children.

Tell us a bit about your role as Arsamene.

Arsamene is the sort of Everyman character who crops up in a lot of operas who is a relatively innocent bystander buffeted either by fate or other people's decisions and/or mistakes. As the brother of a fairly unpredictable king, he is used to minding his Ps and Qs and generally toeing the line but when it comes to a conflict of love he finally rises to the occasion.

If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?

Slightly nauseatingly, I think I would do much the same but there are some decisions I would make differently along the way. If I had to change though, I would have quite liked to be an actor or TV presenter. Or an astronaut, obviously.

What place is always with you, wherever you go?

My home in Oxford.

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

Live. Because there is simply no substitute for the buzz of real performance.

You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?

My gut reaction was a boat, but in retrospect that won't work. Not a designer after all. A flag then?

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?

Help someone else.

What's great about today?

Pretty much everything.

What’s your big idea for 2011?

Get a pump for my rubber dinghy and go on the Thames with my family.

* * *

Xerxes is a co-production between The NBR New Zealand Opera and Victorian Opera in Melbourne, in association with Auckland Arts Festival. It is sung in Italian with English surtitles and opens at The Civic in Auckland on Wednesday 2 March and at the St James in Wellington on Tuesday 15 March.