If I could live my life over again, there is one thing I would change. I would want to be able to eat less.

I've been buying the same lambrusco from Correggio [a town between Reggio-Emilia and Modena] since 1965.

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.

If your body is not in shape to sing [from the diaphragm] you will push and push but keep falling back on your throat to make the sound. This will ruin your voice.

The rivalry is with ourself. I try to be better than is possible. I fight against myself, not against the other.

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

I think Beijing deserves the Olympics in order to be with all the rest of the world recognized.