My real passion is for opera. It was born and developed by listening to records, and my dream as a child was to record entire operas when I grew up, and this dream came true.

I am not only fighting against something, I am fighting for something - and I am for life.

I loved playing football. In this particular match the ball happened to hit my right eye, the only one which I could see light and colour with.

I change the language with which I use my voice. In opera, I know I have an orchestra behind me; I have to communicate to people very far from me.

In singing, you cannot 'cheat' if you want to give emotions to those who are listening. You must have something to tell.

I'm quite shy, so I hate seeing my private life splashed over the papers.

A voice is very intimate. It's something of your own. So there's always this fear, because you feel naked. There's a fear of not reaching up to expectations. As you become more famous, people come and expect to hear something extraordinary, so you don't want to disappoint them. I feel this sense of responsibility.