When The Curtain Rises, The Only Thing

I Will Always Be As Difficult As Necessary To Achieve The Best.

I Prepare Myself For Rehearsals Like I Would For Marriage.

An Opera Begins Long Before The Curtain Goes Up And Ends Long After It Has Come Down. It Starts In My Imagination, It Becomes My Life, And It Stays Part Of My Life Long After I've Left The Opera House.

It Takes A Little More Time To Get Into The Role, But Not Very Much More. In Making A Record You Don't Have The Sense Of Projection Over A Distance As In An Opera House. We Have This Microphone And This Magnifies All Details Of A Performance, All Exaggerations. In The Theater, You Can Get Away With A Very Large, Very Grand Phrase. For The Microphone, You Have To Tone It Down. It's The Same As Making A Film, Your Gestures Will Be Seen In Close-up, So They Cannot Be Exaggerated As They Would Be In A Theater.

My Poor Sight Gives Me An Advantage. I Can't See The People In The Audience Who Are Scratching Their Heads While I Am Lost In My Role And Giving Everything I Have To The Drama.