You reach your audience at the moment when you really have something to say - that is, when you're not just delivering a performance.

My mouth was always my weapon. I've become quieter now. It's possible to put things very clearly, concisely and sharply, even when you do it quietly.

When I go to an opera performance and sit there while people are cheering and shouting "bravo," I sometimes ask myself what exactly they're cheering about. And I even see myself as an artist who also knows how to enjoy other people's performances.

You reach your audience at the moment when you really have something to say - that is, when you're not just delivering a performance.

I achieved everything one can achieve as a concert singer. Six Echo Klassik awards and three Grammys, and I also have my professorship at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin. Now I'm going to turn to other things, like readings or audiobooks.