Cecilia Bartoli joined the 20 men and 30 boys who make up the world's oldest choir of the Sistine Chapel in Rome as part of a unique musical project, which draws on the musical archives of the Catholic Church.
The five-time Grammy award singer told Classic FM: "Being the first woman to sing with the choir, and to record in the Sistine Chapel, is an immense privilege.
"I am at a loss for words. I am in seventh heaven, may I say that?"
The mezzo-soprano singer broke the 500 year-old tradition of only men performing below Michelangelo's ceiling and recorded music by the Renaissance composer Pérotin.
At a press conference at the Vatican, Georg Gänswein, prefect of the Papal Household, said: "This new production, focusing on the liturgical time of Christmas, is based on the unique characteristic of translating into sound the manuscripts present in the "Sistine Chapel" archive, a truly precious treasure chest."
Bartoli's voice is also included in the choir's 16 track Christmas CD, Veni Domine: Advent and Christmas at the Sistine Chapel, which was released worldwide this month.
Federico Capitoni, who is a music critic for La Repubblica said the inclusion of a woman in the choir was a "significant gesture of openness by the Vatican".
