Jessye Norman

“The voice is not a machine. It's a living, breathing thing.”

“I've always thought of myself as a soprano with a usable middle and low register.”

“Pigeonholes are for pigeons.”

“I am not a diva. I am a tadpole trying to be a frog.”

“The arts are not a frill. The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature.”

“Music is our myth of the inner life.”

“I look forward to the day when we can be judged on our own merits.”

“It is a glorious thing to know that your world is not bounded by the physical world.”

“There is no ‘should’ or ‘should not’ when it comes to having an inner life.”

“One has to find a way of celebrating the gift, and the gift is the voice.”

“I'm a great believer in the kindness of strangers.”

“I want to be remembered as a person who was kind and who was generous.”

“The business of singing is a very strange one. You can't see your instrument.”

“I think that one of the things that is so important for all of us is to be able to listen.”

“Preparation is everything. It's the only way to have the freedom to be spontaneous.”

“My life and my work are not separate. I don't have a screen that I put up.”

“I have always been a person who is extremely comfortable in my own skin.”