We consider Monteverdi the first composer of opera. There was someone before, but everything started with Monteverdi.

The songs of Bizet are by a French peer of Rossini. When Rossini stopped composing, he was living in Paris. He also wrote some beautiful songs in French.

I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.

I am a person of the 18th century.

Well, what I tried to do is to just listen to my voice, because my voice is my boss. She decides.

I would still love to do more Handel. I think Handel was a fantastic composer. I did lots of Vivaldi, but it's also important to do the music of Handel, one of the greatest composers of the 18th century.

I went to the Conservatory of Music in school in Rome.