Mirella Freni

“Puccini can be dangerous, with the passion and temperament you must have in your sound.”

“Most of the big singers came to Modena - Gino Bechi, Renata Tebaldi, Giuseppe Di Stefano - but I didn't have a favorite singer, because so many of them gave me so much.”

“I sang Violetta with Karajan at La Scala too early. The problem was that I was too young and there were fans of other singers who were against me. But when you make a mistake, you learn something, and I learned very well from this mistake, and I did not make so many others.”

“I am generous in many ways, but not when I think it will destroy my voice.”

“For me, to be diva is to have an evening when you are on stage and you are in good form. To have respect for everybody - for colleagues, for the maestro, for the audience. And to give emotion while you sing. If you're talented, you try to do the best you can. But you don't make problems. I respect everybody. For me this is a diva.”