The voice changes very slowly. I keep mine well under control and try with all my might to keep it exactly as it was at the very beginning.

Every audience has its character; I like America - they love me. I suffer from stage fright, but in America not so much.

I studied law, and I was ready to be a lawyer in my country (Italy). Probably it is better for many clients that I changed my direction! But I was happy to study and I was a good student, I finished my studies. And everything that you learn is useful in life.

What is beautiful enchants me. I mean not just physical beauty but a wider concept of beauty. There is beauty in poetry and in great musical or singing performances. There is beauty everywhere if you can just see it.

Probably the first time I left Italy was to travel by train to Lourdes. I went with my mother and my grandmother - who was a very religious person - so it was a pilgrimage of sorts. I remember it as a very intense, but beautiful experience.

The fact that I am blind is not what defines my life. It should be of no more interest than my blood type. People wonder if there is a relationship between my lack of sight and the way I sing. But there's no connection.

Often, I went in love with some friends in school. And, no, I suffered. Only later, things went better.