Above all, I am an opera singer. This is how people will remember me.

I'm a perfectionist, and I always think that I can do better what I have done, even if it's good.

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

Children should be given the chance to play instruments, to sing.

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.

On the day I'm performing, I don't hear anything anyone says to me.

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