Renee Fleming

My parents discussed singing every night over the dinner table; I had a tremendous music education.

When a human being without amplification makes a sound that is high and loud, it is almost unworldly.

I think singing is one of the most natural things that human beings do, but it's difficult.

Well, any time I'm preparing for a performance or even a rehearsal, it's as if in a way, like any other athletes, these are muscles that support the vocal cords which are just I believe cartilage. It demands a kind of constant warming up and a constant feeling of where is the voice today.

One of my timesaving habits is to save all of my magazines and junk mail for airplane trips. I walk on the plane with a very heavy bundle, but by the time the trip is over, it can all be thrown away.

For years, I had no time for exploratory travel.

I learned so many roles so quickly as a young singer, I thought it was time to come back to them and make them better - deeper, more nuanced.

For a while it was hard for me to say no to work.

I think opera has gained a kind of glamorous appeal. It's a live performance that aligns all of the arts, and when it is represented in the media, in film in particular, it is presented as something that is really a special event, whether it's a great date or something that's just hugely romantic.

Everybody's a work in progress. I'm a work in progress. I mean, I've never arrived... I'm still learning all the time.

Having to travel so much plays havoc with your personal life.