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.

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.

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.

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

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.