From the current Opernglas interview:

He decided to try performing live opera because Simon Rattle told him that
"his handicap would count against you only if you sang badly."

Quasthoff's admiration for Rattle and trust in him made the difference
after long years of refusing opera to sign up for the Salzburg "Fidelio"
(Don Ferrando), with Rattle, and then the 2004 "Parsifal" (Amfortas).  His
favorite conductors for opera are Rattle, Thielemann and Runnicles.

Quasthoff is adamant about not singing roles associated with handicap -
Rigoletto, Alberich.  He is expressing interest in Macbeth, Germont, the
Speaker of "The Magic Flute," and other roles.

His plan is to stop singing at age 60 because there is time to "yield to a
new generation," and there are too many singers who keep singing beyond the
time when they should stop in order to leave their fans with good memories.
Quasthoff will be 43 on Nov.  9.

Janos Gereben/SF
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