Top 28 Quotes by Juan Diego Florez

I grew up listening to popular music. My father was a Peruvian folk singer. He played the guitar at home. He sang songs with a waltzing rhythm, yet you can still hear the Spanish influences. I accompanied him to his performances.

Around age 38, there was a slight change to my voice, and very much in the center. That made it possible to start thinking about certain roles: Guillaume Tell, Romeo, Edgardo. These roles require a fuller center.

Some people might hate someone who is successful, but in Peru, they love it! It makes them feel they can be successful, too. That's a good state of mind for a country that wants to come out of poverty.

When I'm doing sports, I always think of how it's related to singing, and when I watch tennis, I learn a lot for my singing: how the players are focused, how they use their technique, and, in the case of Roger Federer, how effortless it is and how beautiful it is to watch - like bel canto, in a way. That's how singing should be.

I went to school to learn guitar, solfeggio, and harmony. I wanted to know more about music, how it works. I wanted to take voice lessons, too, and that's when I discovered what I could do with my voice. At the beginning, I thought I would do classical and pop, but then I learned that I really liked the classical music.