Lily Sigall was born in Hungary in 1914, grew up in Vienna and has lived in London since the mid 1930s. A personal friend of many famous singers including Placido Domingo, Ruggiero Raimondi, Victoria de Los Angeles and Sylvia Sass (to name a few) Lily is also renowned for being one of London’s most successful hostesses, with what may be the last true ‘salon’ of its kind, where artists can meet and collaborate as guests at her many parties. Now aged 95, she talks to her friend, the writer and musicologist Brendan Carroll, about the musical life of pre-war Vienna, her experiences in London during WWII, the glory days of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the 1960s and 70s and, with some carefully chosen recordings, she recalls many of the famous singers and artists she has known during her long life.