Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself.

Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself.

The very best thing that could happen to a voice, if it shows any promise at all, is when it is very young to leave it alone and to let it develop quite naturally, and to let the person go on as long as possible with the sheer joy of singing.

As for my voice, it cannot be categorized-and I like it that way, because I sing things that would be considered in the dramatic, mezzo or spinto range. I like so many different kinds of music that I've never allowed myself the limitations of one particular range.

It is still more likely that a woman's power would be seen as aggression, and a man's power would be seen as assertion.

I have enjoyed most particularly reading the correspondence between Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. The genuine friendship, competitiveness and support that thread through their communications are life lessons for us all.

There has never been a time when I was not committed to, involved in, or caring of, the social and political issues of my world.