Opera is music AND drama. I'm prepared to sacrifice the beautiful note for the meaningful sound any time... I can make a pretty tone as well as anyone, but there are times when the drama of a scene demands the opposite of a pretty sound.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

Opera is an extremely disciplined art form, and every excess a singer indulges in has a direct effect on the voice.

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

Just sing it. Don't prove you can sing it. I know you can, you know you can. So just do it, because if you try to prove it, you'll lose.

Why let one high C ruin your whole evening?

I had found a kind of serenity, a new maturity. I didn't feel better or stronger than anyone else but it seemed no longer important whether everyone loved me or not - more important now was for me to love them. Feeling that way turns your whole life around; living becomes the act of giving.