Renee Fleming

Being steeped in the process of learning and exploring keeps me from becoming too nervous. Partly it's about not getting bored.

Learning operatic roles is ongoing, and I find that I can learn on the train or subway, during a manicure, getting my hair done, and even while driving if I only look at the score at red lights.

There's no performance where I never have to think about setting up a phrase or making a technical adjustment while I'm performing.

At this stage in my career, I don't have to take any big risks. You want to take a calculated risk, not one that leads to people saying 'yes, but there was that one time when she made that big mistake.' It's always a shame when that happens, especially if you've gotten by for decades without anything hugely tragic.

I have not changed with the accomplishments. I've remained the same. If I had changed, great. You know, but I haven't.

Because everything about the voice interests me, I felt it would be fascinating to learn a completely different style of singing.

I do everything in the third person. Performance is about being someone else.

Some of my first teachers were incredibly tough. You could never sing more than three words without being stopped and having to do it over 20 times. I loved that - that sort of process of dissecting and trying to figure out and master this incredibly mysterious instrument.

Very few opera singers in history have been able to cross into popular music.

I was constantly being pushed toward a European ideal of what it means to be a classical or opera singer, let's say in the Renata Tebaldi mode. I reject that.

I'm not exactly an angry young person.

I think touring is hard.