"I'm a huge dog person; I love to hug and kiss them."
"I spent my first 10 years in the Commonwealth. I come from cricket, crumpets, cucumber sandwiches, the Queen."
"What I see as specially English is the charm - everyone is so polite. Being restrained is part of the charm. And I love the sense of humour - it takes me back to Australia. The English are great at making fun of themselves. They're so self-effacing."
"I know there are lots of regional accents in England, but I can't tell them apart and I'm not really aware of class. I don't pay any attention to those boundaries. I'm a California girl."
"I think of myself as an Olympian. I have had a dream since I was a very small child. And because I have parents without whom I couldn't have realised that dream."
"To be a famously successful opera singer. I wanted that since I was eight."
"I sang with a voice that was natural, and I liked the way I produced that sound. I thought of my other friends, that they were singing and dancing, but they didn't have this. I was special."
"My parents kept me very grounded."
"My Mozart career began as a teenager in Los Angeles, singing arias from 'Le Nozze di Figaro' and 'Don Giovanni.'"
"Mozart is my first strength."
"One of the things I loved about my childhood was that I didn't feel like I lost my innocence too young, like some children these days."
"I believed in Santa Claus until I was 12!"
"In a fit at the bookstore one day, I bought all my favourite composers' biographies: Schubert, Massenet, Wolf. I've still not had a chance to read them; it breaks my heart. But when you travel so much, you just can't take that many books with you."
"One of my favourite books of all time: 'The Great Gatsby'. I just think it's so well written."
"My dad's in banking, my mum manages the American branch of a Swiss vitamin company; they're really busy, but they still come to all my premieres."
"My mother actually does most of my shopping for me. I love fashion, but I don't really love shopping."
"I've always been a bit dressed up, even on casual days. I suppose that's the performer in me."
"Outreach appearances in the schools are usually part of my contracts, and I love doing them."
"I got into singing when I was 6."
"The thing that fuels me the most is the desire to be on stage. And singing is the ultimate way of expressing all the emotions that I have inside."
"I have to take care of myself. It's about self-preservation."
"My professional life shouldn't be an influence on whether I spend time at home. My career is my whole life's blood. It's my calling."
"I feel very fortunate. I feel like an Olympian. When I watch the Olympics, I cry because I have been through that journey."
"Unfortunately, opera engagements tend to be made five years in advance, and I don't really agree with that."
"We can all afford to do a little soul-searching about the choices we make and the way we live our lives, but sometimes searching one's soul doesn't provide the answers we seek."
