I am under no illusion that I will ever be the greatest opera composer in the world, with Wagner and Verdi and Strauss before me. I think my work could fit very nicely into musicals, though.

I've written songs for Shirley Bassey, Marianne Faithfull, and Linda Thompson. I sort of focus on these wonderful, aging divas. But maybe that's because I think I'm Christina Aguilera.

Once you've fallen from classical virtue, won't have a soul for to wake up and hold you.

As an artist, you put so much into what you do and it can all be torn down in a nanosecond.

The thing I hate most is false modesty. The artists who are, like, "Oh, you know, I'm really not that good. Oh, I can't believe I'm here." I find it vaguely sinister, even.

I very much faced my mother's death with hard, arduous and time-consuming labor. The more I would do, the less I would feel.

I have a three-year-old daughter, which makes me more environmentally conscious. For me, it's about the future.