I think touring is hard.

I want to get out of the major opera houses.

I want to keep my voice young, with nothing heavy.

I was always a very good student.

I would love to do more private concerts.

I'm lucky - I can do two things at once.

I'm not a reactionary.

I'm rarely singing in English.

I'm reserved, so I've always needed to find a way of opening up. Jazz helped me do that.

I've always been inspired by artists who have shown musical and intellectual curiosity and the courage to take risks.

It is always fragile, being a parent.

My parents discussed singing every night over the dinner table; I had a tremendous music education.

My parents were both high-school music teachers.

My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.

No voice teacher can be all things to all people. You have to gain information from whatever sources you can. You have to listen.

Opera is really fun.

There's no performance where I never have to think about setting up a phrase or making a technical adjustment while I'm performing.

Very few opera singers in history have been able to cross into popular music.

When a human being without amplification makes a sound that is high and loud, it is almost unworldly.

With classical singing you have to put out so much air - you project, you emit force.