My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.

Perfection often creates such a flawless surface that there's no place for the audience to enter into a piece, while the idiosyncrasies of individual style are like windows into the singer's heart.

The more you put into it, the more you and the audience will get out of it.

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

I don't want to record anything unless it can be great and genuinely interesting.

My mother was the worst kind of stage mother. She would make me and my younger sister and brother little duckling costumes and put us in kiddie shows.

We sing with the entire body. The sounds that we make emanate not just from the head, but from the whole heart and soul, and, most important, the gut.