Dawn Upshaw: 'I try not to shout on the touchline'

Soprano Dawn Upshaw was born in Nashville in 1960. She has sung leading opera roles around the world and this week performs in the UK premiere of Kaija Saariaho's L'amour de loin at the Barbican.

What's your typical day?

I try to set aside time every performance day when I can lie down and focus mentally on the piece(s) at hand, concentrating on my hopes and goals for the experience. And I try not to cheer too loudly at any sporting events my children may have.

How would you describe your part in 'L'amour de loin'?

I think of the role of Clemence as a great journey – a search for truth, for purity of love, for salvation. And then there are many difficulties that she must deal with – doubt, lack of confidence, anger, suffering.

What kind of work do you most enjoy and what do you listen to at home?

I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have a choice between different styles, different ideas, different forms of expression. What do I listen to? All different things, depending on my mood: Richard Goode, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Messiaen, Mozart, Golijov, the Kronos Quartet, Monteverdi, Jan DeGaetani, choral music, Sarah Vaughn, my children playing the piano or singing.

You've done a lot of work that could broadly be called 'political': 'Theodora', 'El Niño'.

I don't think of myself as politically active through my work. Some things might have some sort of "political" message, especially projects with the director Peter Sellars. And I would never do anything on stage that I was uncomfortable with.

How do you combine your career and motherhood?

My husband, Michael, is a full-time at-home dad. It would not be possible for me to have the career I have without his support.

Does it irritate you that no one ever asks tenors or baritones how they combine fatherhood and their careers?

You mean, they don't get asked that question?! I know a few dads in the business that deal with the same challenges that I do. I don't think either sex gets enough credit for this progress.

You are famous for your recording of Henryk Gorecki's 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs'. How would you feel if you were best remembered for that?

I think it would be very strange for me to be remembered in the music world too much past my death. I imagine there will be additional recordings of the Gorecki, but I am touched when anyone chooses to listen to me sing.

Who are your top three heroes or heroines in singing?

From the past, Claudia Muzio and Jan DeGaetani. The present – Joni Mitchell.

'L'amour de loin': Barbican, London EC2 (020 7638 8891), 21 November