In the latest installment in her star-studded and ever glistening career, Dark is channelling the magnanimous nun in the beloved musical, alongside the likes of Marina Prior, Cameron Daddo and Amy Lehpamer, along with 13-year-old Ballarat actor Emily Crockett as Louisa von Trapp.

The musical has recently finished its season in Sydney and is currently showing in Brisbane, arriving in Melbourne next month before moving onto Adelaide.

Dark, known for her roles as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and as a leading artist with Opera Australia, said she spent plenty of time preparing for her saintly role, including visiting an actual nun’s abbey.

“You think you know the life of a nun, but until you see inside their world...their whole life is this selfless dedication to their belief. It’s such a sacrifice and discipline,” she said.

“They’re also very still and there’s a deep peacefulness about them. It really changed our characterisations once we met the nuns.”

Dark said she admired Mother Abbess immensely, but didn’t feel she could claim too many similarities.

“She is beautiful and wise and selfless and she’s an incredible leader and a wise leader. I think everyone would like to be like Mother Abbess – she does what she knows is right even when she doesn’t want to,” she said.

“If we were all a bit more like here, the world would be a better place. I would love to think I had some of her qualities but I don’t think any of us are that selfless.”

Her preparation and research also led her to studying other incarnations of Mother Abbess by actresses such as Peggy Wood – but not too much.

“I think there’s a danger playing iconic roles. You can’t copy - if you copy you’re lost,” she said.

“I did watch the others but not slavishly so. You do it, but then you have to form your own ideas of the character.

“Cameron is not like Christopher Plummer and Amy is not like Julie Andrews. Cameron is just beautiful because he does thing you don’t expect and Amy is a bit fiester than Julie was.

Dark, a huge fan of the musical, said she could not remember a time when she didn’t know songs like Do Re Mi and My Favourite Things.

“I think everyone has always loved it. So many people you speak to say ‘I’ve loved that since my childhood’ and so many people say ‘I’m a complete Sound of Music tragic’,” she said.

For more show information, visit www.soundofmusictour.com.au