The appeal of opera, she says, is “I like the challenge of it. I think being an opera singer, in terms of studying the technique of singing, is sort of the highest level of vocal ability that one can try to attain, and I was always fascinated by the technique of singing — how to sing, how to make your voice work.

“I love the grandness of it. I love the music, the live orchestra. I love trying to find a new way to sing a line on any given night. The roles I've done many times in the past, I tried to do a little differently.”

And, at times, it all comes together in great and unexpected ways.

“There are sort of pinnacle performances. The first time I sang Sieglinde from “The Ring Cycle” was at the Met and my tenor was Placido Domingo. I had a moment on stage when I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘I can't believe I'm standing on stage at the Metropolitan Opera singing to Placido Domingo!’ I mean, it was just surreal. Then, when we went out for our applause at the end of the act, you could just feel the applause in your chest, it was so enormous.

“But it comes at various moments. I could be in the middle of a performance and a particular phrase goes well and you just know that this is what you're supposed to be doing, and I know that God put me on this earth to be an opera star. I'm not sure why…”   continue »