"Even in today's opera world, the position of the black tenor is problematic."
"I was very young at the time, and I mainly appreciated their vocal qualities, even though I was already living as they did - as black performers in a white world."
"But life is tough and if you're creative, it's tougher."
"If you try to do that in pop music - to play only rare show tunes, for example - people don't come."