I learned so many roles so quickly as a young singer, I thought it was time to come back to them and make them better - deeper, more nuanced.

Being steeped in the process of learning and exploring keeps me from becoming too nervous. Partly it's about not getting bored.

No voice teacher can be all things to all people. You have to gain information from whatever sources you can. You have to listen.

I was constantly being pushed toward a European ideal of what it means to be a classical or opera singer, let's say in the Renata Tebaldi mode. I reject that.

If I have to hold a note for a long time, I imagine it as moving and spinning, for the note has to have life. In a way, a singer actually refreshes a note with every beat that it's held.

Very few opera singers in history have been able to cross into popular music.

With classical singing you have to put out so much air - you project, you emit force.