It's always beautiful to sing with other great voices. I like voices in general. It's a big privilege to have great singers next to me.

I loved riding bikes and horses. I was eight when I started having lessons, and when my father bought me my own horse I couldn't wait to go off on my own.

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.

You have to have great passion, because to sing operatic music requires lots of work. I study for at least two hours every day. The voice is like an instrument and requires constant exercise.

I've been to almost every country in the world, and the most frustrating thing for me has been that my schedule has always been so busy that there's so little time before and after performances to explore where I'm visiting.

To sing a song is like whispering to a child's ear. It is an art heavily relying on improvisation.

I'm most impressed by the Russian writers, so I love reading the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Another author who has informed the way I think is the French philosopher, Blaise Pascal.