Russians always need a little sh*t in our lives. If everything is good and we seem completely happy, then we become suspicious of that.

Lots of opera singers are just boring.

I have an intuition, and usually my intuition is right. I have a feeling for whether a role will be good or bad for me, and I almost never make a mistake.

Maybe because Im a nice and sweet person in life, I like the darker roles. The really dark one is Lady Macbeth.

Im just a normal person. Its not like I come home and think about opera. My thoughts are about completely other things. Shoes! Dresses! Expensive ones: with a pretty silhouette, beautiful fabrics.

I know what I want, and I know what needs to be done to make my performance better. So I do these little askings, about the lights and costumes. Its not the diva speaking. Its the artist who knows how it has to be done.

When I started, my teachers told me that I had to sing Mozart, Mozart, Mozart. I said, No, I want to sing all the other stuff. If you do not push yourself, you will stay the same. Maybe some singers are happy with that, but I have to move, I have to do something new always.

I prefer it when the conductor follows me. It is more difficult to work with a conductor who does not listen - even if I understand that sometimes it makes sense when one person is ruling everything. But for bel canto, I have to have a conductor who listens and supports me.