Opera is a beautiful and important diversion for me.

I remember quite well that 10,000 audience sang with us three on the spot, and ever since then, I always thought the Chinese audience are the greatest audience.

It is a very honest world, our work. I think you cannot fake anything.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

It is not always a matter of wild ovations and legendary performances. Sometimes you are just happy to get through an opera without trouble.

Am I afraid of high notes? Of course I am afraid. What sane man is not?

As an art form, opera is a rare and remarkable creation. For me, it expresses aspects of the human drama that cannot be expressed in any other way, or certainly not as beautifully.