I've lived in New York all my life, and we went to the Mormon Pageant each year in upstate New York. It still is a wonderful production. I remember going and seeing the performance and listening to the music. My father had Mormon Tabernacle Choir music, and we would listen to it and sing with it.

For years, I had no time for exploratory travel.

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.

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

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.

I am so envious of my colleagues from 100 years ago who only sang new works, they hardly ever sang revivals.

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