A lot of performers don't want to leave the circuit, the European opera house circuit, partly because most singers don't sing many concerts, or at least not while they are in their prime.

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

Certainly, jazz has become more of a niche, which is surprising, because it's our music. It's the national music of America.

I would love to do more private concerts.

Your brain has a music room, and evolution would not have gone to the trouble of designing that if it didn't have some benefits. So, that suggests to me that we and our ancestors have had music as a central part of our experience for eons. And we're just beginning to understand how that might be. I think that's fascinating.

I've always been inspired by artists who have shown musical and intellectual curiosity and the courage to take risks.

The first thing I did when I made a little bit of money as a singer was to buy myself an amber necklace. This is often the way we put together our lives, adding the striking qualities of others into our own character.