Opera Repertoire Quotes

I had classical training but I don't consider myself an opera singer though.

When you are up close to an opera singer, hearing this incredible volume of noise coming from a human being - it's beyond belief.

We do not seem to be finding tomorrow's Toscas.

An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.

I think every singer should be able to jump in for a singer who has been sick, for instance, and learn an opera in two days. I know people who can do it.

My parents were both opera singers, and they also were both heavily into religious and church music.

My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.

Lots of opera singers are just boring.

To sing opera, one needs two things: the voice and the passion - and above all, the passion.

I originally wanted to be an opera singer. I studied classical voice at the University of Washington but soon realised I didn't have the instrument or the discipline. The road for opera singers is more difficult than for actors.

My grandma did opera singing for the better part of her life; she used to sing all over the place. My grandpa was a sax player, and he used to travel all over the place, too.

I have never called myself an opera singer. Other people do, but I always call myself a classical singer. I'd love to do opera, but I'm still too young and I don't want to do it until I'm ready. I realise that when I do that it's going to be... up for discussion, shall we say, so I want to get it right.

True expression is hard when performing opera. The problem is that opera relies on the dramatic context of the piece. It can be interpreted and represented, but there are guidelines; there is a vocabulary within the pieces that you must know objectively and reflect.

I have always loved music and singing, and I am open to listen to any type of music. Regardless of my mood, my heart is always set racing when I listen to opera. When I decide which music I want to hear, my choice is almost invariably an opera recording.

I watch Renee Fleming a lot. I listen to Renee Fleming a lot. She was like my built-in master class.

The most widely criticised singers in the history of opera, Maria Callas and Franco Corelli, happen also to be the best singers. I am honoured for being part of their group.

I love to conduct opera.

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.

The only thing I daydreamed about was being an opera singer. But I was so skinny and so pathetic that that sort of wasn't going to happen.

The number of opera houses around the world and the high attendance rates show that opera an art form that is more popular than ever.

Both my mother and my grandmother aspired to be opera singers. And they studied it.

I started performing opera when I was 10 years old. I didn't perform as Zola Jesus until I was probably 18.

My parents were opera singers and voice teachers, so growing up, I admired musicians and dancers.

Americans, they have an incredible operatic tradition: the Metropolitan Opera House is - if not the most prestigious - one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world for over 100 years.

It's important that we have the traditional operas and the repertory, but we should also have something new.