Ms Evans, who was unable to attend the event because of rehearsals with Welsh National Opera (WNO), said she and her husband were awoken with the good news by a phone call at 0400 GMT.

She said she was surprised by the win because she and her company had been up against Domingo - one of the Three Tenors - who was nominated for Albéniz: Pepita Jiménez

"Isn't it amazing? I can't believe it," she said.

"My God, when I saw he (Domingo) was nominated, when I was up against him... you suddenly think 'oh gosh', you don't have a chance. And I kind of put it to the back of my mind actually."

She added: "I haven't been back to sleep since, it's such a thrill."

"It's important to me, it's important to my family and my friends who have supported me throughout my career and, you know, it was a recording that I was extremely proud of."

The rest of the company included Sir Charles Mackerras as conductor, with whom Ms Evans made her professional debut in Wales in 1991.

Ms Evans, who is due to open a tour of WNO's production of the Magic Flute at the Wales Millennium Centre on Friday, will perform the Grammy-winning Hansel and Gretel in Wales later this year.

Meanwhile, Sir Anthony Hopkins accepted his Bafta fellowship from his friend, the actor-director Lord Attenborough.

The actor, whose best-known roles include The Silence of the Lambs and Remains of the Day, said: "My life in this acting game has just been one long, drawn-out surprise. I'm surprised I'm still here.

"I'm just a lucky guy to be here. It's such a strange business, but I'm just glad I'm a part of it."