While They Are Kids, My Children Must

If You Could Have The Arms Of Hercules, Legs As Swift As The Wind. If You Could Leap Shoulder High Above The Rim, Have The Kick Of A Dolphin, The Reflexes Of A Cat. If You Could Have All These, You Would Have The Body, You Would Have The Tools. But You Would Not Have Greatness Until You Understand That The Strongest Muscle Is The Heart. To Me, That's The Soul Of The Olympic Games.

I Don't Like Being Called 'macho.' Macho Basically Means Stupid And A Real Italian Man Is Not Macho, He's Smart. That's Smart In Both Senses: Elegant And Clever.

When You Sing Opera You Are Very Far From The People, You Are Onstage, And Between You And The People There Is The Orchestra. So You Have To Launch Your Emotions Very, Very Far. When You Sing Pop, You Are Singing Very Close - The Microphone Is Very Close To Your Mouth. You Can Whisper Your Emotions Into The Microphone.

For Me, Riding A Two-wheeler Bike Was Very Risky. Counting The Pedal Strokes Before Turning A Corner And Learning To Hear The Sounds Coming From Buildings, Grass And The Climbing Frame Made All The Difference To Basic Survival And Ensured That I Didn't End Up Head-first In The Sandpit.

Losing My Sight Had Nothing To Do With My Focus On Music. My Passion For Music Was Already There, So It Would Be A Mistake To Give Too Much Significance To My Blindness.