Kiri Te Kanawa

“I knew that I could be more creative onstage, to state my own case and deliver my own interpretation of the role much more aggressively than in the recording studio.”

“We sing these songs for the everyday occasions of life, and they are very close to the hearts of our people.”

“I never had the influence of any other singer in my music, so I sounded like myself all the time.”

“The word 'no' is a very good word in a singer's repertoire.”

“I only have so much energy, so something had to go. This is why, at the end of the day, I've preserved my sanity for the children and also manage to do my best at work.”

“I felt that the studio recording process makes you stand still too long.”

“I'm completely in charge of my own life now. Sometimes there's no one there to slap me on the hand and say: 'Stop being so bullish and bossy,' and things like that.”

“I used to suffer from a lot of regret while touring. Regret at having to leave certain places, people and situations, or just a beautiful day.”

“Opera is for a lifetime, not just a minute.”

“My children are my children. There's no doubt about that at all. They're very strong towards me, very protective, and I towards them. It works both ways.”

“When I perform Strauss, it is as if the music fits me like a glove. My voice seems to lie in a happy area in this music, which is lyrical and passionate at the same time.”

“I tell students, 'If you are learning from YouTube I almost don't want to teach you because what you learn from YouTube it takes 10 times as long to unlearn.' They do an approximation of the centre of the note, an approximation of the interpretation, a cloned version.”

“I really believe I've been a good person. Not perfect - forget about perfect - but just learning by what I was taught and living by my own values. I might have stepped on a few ants - and a few other things as well - but I've never hurt anybody.”

“I grew up in the New Zealand countryside. We didn't have television until I was 14, so sing-alongs were our only entertainment.”

“When I'm alone at home, I really prefer to listen to Wagner's orchestral music rather than any vocal music. I find it illuminating not to have to pay attention to voices in the recordings.”

“My energy is undiminished. Someone said to me the other day, 'Are you retired?' and I said, 'Well, I'm just trying to prove that I'm not.' There's so many things to do.”

“I'm more confident now than I've ever been. As you get older, you have to be.”