Credo: Raymond Gubbay

Impresario, 61

I'm spreading classical music to a wider audience. I'm no messiah but, nonetheless, it's wonderful to see how many people we get through the doors – hundreds of thousands a year – and to get the feedback.

There is a misapprehension that I'm raking in the cash and I don't care. You have to love music to do this job, with the hours and the risks – I promote about 70 events a year at the Albert Hall alone (classical concerts, operas, ballets and so on). My mother was a pianist, and though I was disdainful and failed Grade One piano, my affinity for music came out a different way.

The Arts Council should be abolished. It has shown itself to be useless. We have the Department for Culture, which is hands-on anyway. Why deal with the monkey when you can deal with the organ-grinder?

I am not religious, but I am proud of my heritage. I was born Jewish and have a mixed background: my mother's family come from Russia and Prussia and my father's from the Middle East and beyond. I regard myself as a citizen of the world.

A few people are prejudiced against popularising opera. I actually had one so-called distinguished critic tell me it's a very special form of culture and shouldn't be open to the masses. That's rubbish.

Gilbert and Sullivan's works are, above all, jolly good entertainment and an important part of our culture. They led to musicals and are a fascinating piece of social history. Gilbert had a really good tilt at how the country was run, even if he dressed it up as Japan in The Mikado.

I have never planned my life. I am a fatalist in a sense. Live for today, enjoy life and have respect for others.

Raymond Gubbay is presenting 'Tosca' at the Royal Albert Hall, London SW7 (020 7838 3100) from Thursday until 9 March; and the Gilbert and Sullivan season at the Gielgud Theatre, London W1 (0844 482 5130) until Saturday