I feel like I go from strength to strength. What exists in between is the stuff that makes it worth it. I don't know what a triumph is unless I know what a failure is. I welcome both in equal measure because I know they're both temporary anyway. I know they're both unavoidable anyway.

I truly believe —particularly in this political climate—I have to make my contribution a hopeful one. I can’t see the world any other way. To whom much is given, much is expected. You can’t come to me and expect that I’m going to be giving up on people, or on our society.

I can't speak to being a force for change, but I take it and wear it proudly. I'll never deny it or be one of those people who are like, "I'm just trying to do my best..." No! I'm all about total world domination.

Opera contains music that reflects a culture of poetry and aesthetic. Spirituals are no different. What separates a spiritual for me is that I also happen to love Jesus. When I'm approaching these songs, I'm not approaching them like Mozart. I see my faith and the struggle of my ancestors and of a people seeking freedom beside what these songs are going to be in terms of their arrangement and delivery.

Sometimes we depersonalize people who we don't agree with or who we see as targets for hatred. If you think of anything as having a mother, that's going to change everything. All of us have mothers and came from a womb. Buddha says you can't hate anything you understand.

I feel like I go from strength to strength. What exists in between is the stuff that makes it worth it. I don't know what a triumph is unless I know what a failure is. I welcome both in equal measure because I know they're both temporary anyway. I know they're both unavoidable anyway.

Often the most specific stories end up being the most universal.