I think opera has gained a kind of glamorous appeal. It's a live performance that aligns all of the arts, and when it is represented in the media, in film in particular, it is presented as something that is really a special event, whether it's a great date or something that's just hugely romantic.

I want to get out of the major opera houses.

I'm lucky - I can do two things at once.

I don't like to sing loud.

Having to travel so much plays havoc with your personal life.

You finally have to learn to pull all the different kinds of teaching and training and coaching together on you own, so that your voice and body and technique for a sound that is consistent and solid.

I do everything in the third person. Performance is about being someone else.