Opera is credible drama now, and it costs less than going to a football match. What have you got to lose?

I performed in Sydney some years ago for the Sydney Festival and I am just so pleased to be returning to the wonderful Sydney Opera House and also performing in Melbourne for the first time.

I would just like to say that opera is no longer about fat people in breastplates shattering wine glasses.

That was when I realised that music is the most profound, magical form of communication there is.

I do hope that our spring will be starting shortly and we will all be able to enjoy some sunshine again.

The musical heritage of Yorkshire is deep and wide.

To tell you the truth, I never listen to opera at home.

I'm engaging my diaphragm as I'm speaking to you right now.

There are a lot of unseen elements to having a successful singing career.

It worries me that young singers think you can shortcut the training and go straight to fame and fortune, and programmes like Pop Idol have encouraged that.

I do a lot of vocal hygiene.

I still hear the world spinning.

The light of life!

Music has to be written while people are still excited about a particular melodic or rhythmic sequence. The idea doesn't come out the same if we're not really excited about it.

I used to fly off the handle in everyday life, but I'm a little calmer now.

If you run into a psychic wall face-first, do you wind up with psychic bruises? -Clary, pg.239-

The mechanism of violence is what destroys women, controls women, diminishes women and keeps women in their so-called place.

What is that mountain goat doing way up here in the clouds?

In the United States, if you buy a property and you're a good citizen, and you improve that property, what do they do to you? They tax you more. So they penalize you for good behavior.

Nothing scares the army more than nonviolent opposition.

A good place to start initially would be school plays.