Quotes from Sondra Radvanovsky

For me, bel canto is medicine for the voice.

I have the best job in the whole world because I get paid to do something I love. How many people do you know who can say that?

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

I think the power of opera has been shifted from the music to the director, because this is a very visual age that we live in.

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

The vocal cords are a muscle, and like any other muscle in the body, they can be strained. So you have to warm up.

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

I would have to say that my very first encounter with the arts was when my mother bought me my first record player when I was six years old as well as a Karen Carpenter record.

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

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

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.

I am so proud to call myself Canadian! Thank you, Canada, for welcoming me with open arms!

What if you didn't have education for sports? People with a natural inclination for sports, athletes without any kind of education, without any kind of training, they would just be couch athletes instead of the world class Olympians that we have.

Opera tells stories that all ages can relate to: love, death, revenge, etc.

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

I think Chicagoans have a great set of values. You know what I mean? Kindness. Morals. Ethics. People in Chicago do the right thing. If somebody falls on the street, someone will actually stop and help them up. That doesn't happen in certain other cities.

Trying to look glamorous while singing is not easy.

HD is not forgiving. Once you see your face for the first time in a movie cinema, you run straight to the gym.

Temperament and tightness often go together. But if you're tight, you can't sing. So I have to have that tension in my body but not in my voice.

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

I guess my first professional experience was when my church choir director told my mother that I had a gift with my voice and said that I should think about auditioning, at 11 years old, for the chorus of our regional opera company.

If I can transport audiences for the three or four hours they're at the opera, to make them forget all of their worries, the bills they have to pay and all that, then I've done my job. That, for me, is very gratifying.

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.

My roots really instilled Chicago values in me.