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.

I want to get out of the major opera houses.

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.

When a human being without amplification makes a sound that is high and loud, it is almost unworldly.

For a while it was hard for me to say no to work.

Singers can also get away with a lot based on youth, strength and enthusiasm, only to find ten years later that what was once just a niggling problem has brought their careers to an end.

A lot of bad behavior in singers is caused by nerves.