The Seckerson Tapes: Philanthropist Ian Rosenblatt

It has been said that making money is music to the ears of any entrepreneur. In the case of Ian Rosenblatt you might need to turn that concept on its head. The music itself is his passion and the financial losses he routinely absorbs in pursuit of musical excellence is for him a small price worth paying. Well, not so small actually: through Rosenblatt Solicitors - his prestigious City law firm - he spends around £400,000 a year financing the Rosenblatt Recital Series, a now internationally recognised platform for up-and-coming operatic talent. Major young singers of today, stars of tomorrow.

Opera has been Rosenblatt's passion since his Liverpool childhood when his father routinely listened to Verdi's La Traviata over breakfast. After moving to London Rosenblatt would queue for the real thing outside the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden until one day its former artistic director asked if he might be interested in sponsoring the first London concert by a rising young Argentinian tenor José Cura.

That was in 1999 and a year later Rosenblatt's 40th birthday present to himself was to found the Rosenblatt Recital Series. Among his conspicuous successes have been the Peruvian superstar tenor Juan Diego Flórez who enjoyed his UK recital debut under Rosenblatt's auspices and will be returning this year to say thank you. In this exclusive audio podcast, Edward Seckerson, a fellow Liverpudlian and operatic soulmate, hears the Rosenblatt story at first hand.

• Check out the Rosenblatt Recital Series
• Book for Juan Diego Flórez's Rosenblatt recital at the Royal Festival Hall