[on soprano Simone Osborne] Make no mistake, Simone is half athlete and half artist - which you need to be if you want to be an opera star. There's no question about her big talent. I first heard her sing a gorgeous aria from 'The Bartered Bride' in 2007 and, at the end if it, I was sitting with tears in my eyes. She understands that voices need to be brilliant, dark and bright, all at once. She embodies the term 'chiaroscuro'.
