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

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.

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

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.

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.

But now, I am addicted to the peace and calm of being alone. There is something so soothing about solitude that I have no urgent wish to give it up and connect with people.

We simply can’t feel fulfilled by love we pay for.

Anyone is to be pitied who has just sense enough to perceive his deficiencies.

Ethnic diversity adds richness to a society.

When you see how the President makes political or policy decisions, you see who he is. The essence of the Presidency is decision-making.

I've never formally trained in acting, so I'm very instinctual and visceral with decisions.

You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside.

As Mayor, I will use my experience to make San Francisco a place where small businesses can thrive

I don't watch myself on TV, I don't read the news clippings about me, so when people come up and say, 'What about that story last week?' I go, 'I didn't even know there was.'

A film should be like a rock in the shoe.