Sondra Radvanovsky

We live in a very disposable society, and people want everything right away, but unfortunately, vocal technique doesn't come overnight.

I love the tragic side. I don't do 'happy' onstage. I like the dark, the disturbed.

When I was signing up for the University of Southern California's music program, I flipped a coin to decide my major. If it came up heads, it would be flute - tails would be voice.

After I turn 50, I would like to sing Verdi's 'Attila.'

Singing bel canto is like walking on a tightrope - especially with a larger voice like mine.

I'm going to the gym and really taking care of myself and trying to stay fit, eating properly.

Temperament can really take a toll on the voice. If you get tight in your body with the acting, then you can get tight in your voice. And then you can get tired, and you can damage yourself vocally.

When you do a 'messa di voce,' that means you start soft, you crescendo into loud - and then you go back to soft again. Some people call it circus tricks, but in bel canto, it's really written into the music.

I absolutely love Canada, and I wouldn't live anywhere else. It's half American and half European, and I really enjoy that. And the people are just fantastic - nicer than any people in the world.

I'm American by birth, but I consider myself Canadian.

I don't like confrontation; I just like to sing.

You go to the gym to make sure you have the stamina to breathe in the corsets.

I know I'm an opera singer, but we're actors, too.

You went to your first Broadway play or musical at some point, right? Come to opera.

Most voices get weaker and frailer. I seem to be getting better with age.

And if I don't sing, I don't get paid.

It's the worst feeling, coming back after a performance when you are on a real high, and you go back alone to an apartment or a hotel room. People think we sit in hotels and eat bon bons. But the lifestyle can be very stressful.

I perform in opera houses in the centres of big cities. We live in 20 acres of forest. You need that space to recover and renew.

I walk around the house in my pajamas all day if I want to.

When I was 11 years old, I wanted to sing Tosca.

Even when I'm not onstage singing, there's always music going on in my head. It's a curse and a blessing in a way - it's sitting in bed at night, trying to go to sleep, while the music keeps playing in your head - especially when you're trying to learn something new and you're trying to memorize it and get everything.