Q&A
When did you start singing?
When I was 6 years old.
Why did you start singing?
My Dad.
Which singer inspired you most when you were young?
My Dad, my sister, and Leontyne Price
Which singer do you most admire?
My Dad and Leontyne Price.
What's your favourite role?
Violetta and Tosca.
What role have you never played but would like to?
Salome.
What's your favourite opera to watch?
Don Giovanni and Tosca.
Who is your favourite composer?
Puccini.
Who is your favourite writer?
John Grisham.
Who is your favourite theatre or film director?
William Friedkin.
Who is your favourite actor?
I have a lot of favourite actors, it is hard to choose just one.
Who is your favourite dancer?
My niece, Chandler, and Judith Jameson.
What is your favourite book?
The Power of Positive Thinking.
What is your favourite film?
Soapdish.
Which is your favourite city?
London.
What do you like most about yourself?
I enjoy being kind to others
What do you dislike about yourself?
It's very hard for me to say, “No!” and I can feel really guilty about it when I do.
What was your proudest moment?
Working with inner-city children
When and where were you happiest?
I find happiness everywhere, but I'm most happy with my husband and our family at home with our dogs.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
God is the greatest love of my life.
What is your greatest fear?
That I didn't say ‘thank you' to the people who have helped me the most. And showing up to rehearsal totally unprepared.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My love for food, lol! I like to eat 
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Starting an organisation that helps inner-city students: Sylvia's Kids Foundation.
What is your most treasured possession?
The music, records, and Bible that my Dad left to me.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I don't understand the question, but I don't like spending money if that's what you mean
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
I don't know…
On what occasion do you lie?
I try not to lie, it's never a good thing.
If you hadn't been a singer what would you have liked to be?
A lawyer.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My smile.
What quality do you most value in a friend?
Honesty.
What quality do you most value in a colleague?
Honesty and respect.
Which historical figure do you most admire?
Abraham Lincoln and my Dad.
Which living person do you most admire?
My husband, Adam.
What do you most dislike?
Arrogance, and not being compassionate towards others.
What talent would you most like to have?
Being able to do MATH!!!
What's your idea of perfect happiness?
Being thankful makes me happy.
How would you like to die?
This may seem very morbid, but I want to die the same way that my Dad did: like Mimi and Violetta, he just fell asleep and went into eternity.
What is your motto?
Phil 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.
His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.
