Mirella Freni Quotes

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Mirella Freni

Profession : Singer

Birth : February 27, 1935

All the women of Modena know well how to cook and so do I.

Mirella Freni

In Europe they like my Marguerite.

Mirella Freni

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.

Mirella Freni

When I first heard Ruth Ann Swenson, I gave her some advice, but not much. She was good already.

Mirella Freni

When a singer is too nervous, it is finito.

Mirella Freni

I try to have two or three days between performances.

Mirella Freni

When I was young, I kept a book about my performances. It was easier then, because I was not so very busy.

Mirella Freni

It is not easy to sing the way Karajan wants.

Mirella Freni

Some singers think they are gods who can do everything. But I have always been honest with myself and my possibilities.

Mirella Freni

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

Mirella Freni

I like Strehler, even though sometimes he is very hard, and he never wants to stop - but he is fantastic!

Mirella Freni

It is important to have emotion, to live through the music onstage.

Mirella Freni

At heart, I am a Cenerentola.

Mirella Freni

I have done my job honestly.

Mirella Freni

Mimi is a nice part for a young singer, although the third act is not so easy - Puccini's music is never simple! Later, I think Mimi developed along with me. It became more natural - there was more expression. I am always happy when I sing Mimi. It is never routine. Always, it is like the very first time.

Mirella Freni

I have worked hard and with joy.

Mirella Freni

It is not easy to sing the way Karajan wants... because Karajan wants always piano, even pianissimo, but with tension. Legato with tension. This is beautiful, but it is harder, not easier to sing.

Mirella Freni

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

Mirella Freni

We singers are like boxers in that we have our own categories. If you go outside those categories you are in trouble. If I am a welterweight fighter, I am satisfied having a long career as a world-champion welterweight. But if I try to move up into the heavyweight category, then for sure I will take a knockout punch. And then it's finito!

Mirella Freni

I love and respect my instrument. I was born with an instinct for what is right, the correct technique, and I have worked on that mostly myself.

Mirella Freni