Why is mental health an issue? For me, it is an important point that we artists need to pay attention to, and I wish to take away the negative association of this. As a professional therapist and an opera singer, emotional intelligence has always been on my radar. I personally take this very seriously. I do therapy sessions once a week, that allow me and help me to stay on top of the challenges that this profession brings. 

It isn’t wrong to have insecurities, be vulnerable, ask for help… and this is what I realised and learned after 15 years traveling non-stop around world. We are both ourselves and our instrument and if you really pay attention, you can listen when an artist is struggling in their personal life. The point here is that we are not permitted to fail. We are expected to be superhumans.

Last year, I needed to stop work for some months, because I realised ‘the career’ was not fulfilling me as a human. I listened to myself, and with the help of my therapist, I stopped and reassessed my artistic journey. I wanted to realise deeply, what kind of artist I wanted to be and what I wanted to offer to my beloved audience. I don’t know if I could have done it without professional help. We think we are brave, and we can do everything, but you realize (after a lot of personal work) that while ‘ego’ is important on stage, in our personal life it is more important to ask for support and help.

I don’t think the industry must support the artists, this is a personal journey, something that is our responsibility.  I can deal with my mental health better, when I realise that my job is my job, and my personal necessities is a private place that I have to be responsible for.

My therapist background gave me a very important tool for my singing career. I like to face my characters in front of a mirror and ask them personal questions to discover why he would do certain things and ask them personal questions to discover why he would take this or that decision. I don’t judge them; I think with them. Like a therapist would do with me. I’m very proud of the artist I have become after all the decisions I made and my mental health journey that I was brave enough to face.