That's something I've noticed about the greatest singers - their generosity. Joan Sutherland - I went to her house one day and she told me how to sing high notes. Dolora Zajick is a human trumpet. My veins were popping, my face was red, and she just stands there like it's nothing. I had a fantastic education.
Conductors can be influential.
My first Figaro, the big break, was with Christoph Eschenbach and he's been very supportive ever since and we've done major things together, my first Marschallin last spring, we just recorded the Vier Letzte Lieder. And he worked with me a lot during that Figaro, because I was completely new, green. That's very special and it's rare today. It's not that people don't want to help, it's that they don't have time. Conductors are really on a schedule that's amazing.