Like many Mezzo-sopranos, Vivica Genaux has played her share of male roles. But she says growing up in Fairbanks, Alaska, the bigger challenge was learning how to walk in heels on stage!

The difference between walking like a man and walking like a woman, says Genaux, is the shoulders. "Women emote with their shoulders a lot more and men have to be more stable." 

Here Genaux performs "Madrid" by Pauline Viardot, which is about the bull fights, the beautiful women and the stairways of Madrid. Genaux says she chose a work by Viardot because "something in the harmonies and the text just clicked."

Genaux's latest album is Pyrotechnics.