You grew up singing in a Czech youth choir. Was that a fantastic introduction to music for you?
Yes, absolutely. It was the children’s choir of the Brno Philharmonie. In those times we were under the socialistic regime and verything was pretty serious, so we rehearsed five times a week, sometimes twice during the weekend, so we got a really fantastic preparation. We concentrated very much on Renaissance music and also on contemporary music. We were doing complicated things musically, so I learned how to sing by heart, how to sing from the scores, so it was great preparation for my career. Also we performed as the children’s choir in the Brno Opera House so I was singing in things like Carmen and Wozzeck.


© Mathias Bothor/DG

That was before the fall of the Soviet Union. You must have been a student when that happened. Did that make a big difference to your musical life?
Of course, I was 16 and I was one of the students who made revolution! It was...