You go to the gym to make sure you have the stamina to breathe in the corsets.
I know I'm an opera singer, but we're actors, too.
You went to your first Broadway play or musical at some point, right? Come to opera.
Most voices get weaker and frailer. I seem to be getting better with age.
And if I don't sing, I don't get paid.
It's the worst feeling, coming back after a performance when you are on a real high, and you go back alone to an apartment or a hotel room. People think we sit in hotels and eat bon bons. But the lifestyle can be very stressful.
I perform in opera houses in the centres of big cities. We live in 20 acres of forest. You need that space to recover and renew.
When I was 11 years old, I wanted to sing Tosca.
Trying to look glamorous while singing is not easy.
When I am on the opera stage, I am playing someone else. In recitals, I even have the chance to talk to the audience, which is something you don't get to do in opera.
When I teach master classes, I tell young singers if the foundation isn't good, the house will crumble.
I tell young singers not to listen to themselves. What I hear is not what you hear.
I don't like happy stuff. I'm not funny.
For me, bel canto is medicine for the voice.
My roots really instilled Chicago values in me.
People have this idea that opera singers are overweight and sit at home eating bonbons. But I consider myself an athlete.
HD is not forgiving. Once you see your face for the first time in a movie cinema, you run straight to the gym.
I am so proud to call myself Canadian! Thank you, Canada, for welcoming me with open arms!
I would have to say that my very first encounter with the arts was when my mother bought me my first record player when I was six years old as well as a Karen Carpenter record.
Opera tells stories that all ages can relate to: love, death, revenge, etc.
