I'd be hanging out in my bathrobe all day, stinky, just writing, and my mom allowed me to do this-as long as I was writing songs. She said, 'As long as you're seriously working on music, I'll support you. Don't get a job, because if you work, it will crush you.

I have never cooked a meal in my life and always end up paying for dozens of people to eat with me.

I still believe that love is the most powerful force in the world, even though I am yet to experience it fully.

I think my mother, more than anyone, knew the importance of inspiration. If it was occurring, you had to use it.

Prima Donna is my kind of love song to opera but it's not the full experience.

But I want to deepen as an artist, and working with Shakespeare definitely points in that direction.

I want to carve out a serious period of time to focus on the next opera without any distractions. And to do that you need money.