You are born an artist or you are not. And you stay an artist, dear, even if your voice is less of a fireworks. The artist is always there..

I don't need the money, dear. I work for art..

Some say I have a beautiful voice, some say I have not. It is a matter of opinion. All I can say, those who don't like it shouldn't come to hear me..

When my enemies stop hissing, I shall know I'm slipping..

[During fee negotiations for singing in Vienna:] I'm not interested in money, but it must be more than anyone else gets..

Real friends are very special, but you have to be careful because sometimes you have a friend and you think they are made of rock, then suddenly you ….

I would not kill my enemies, but I will make them get down on their knees. I will, I can, I must..

What [Tulio Serafin] said that impressed me was: "When one wants to find a gesture, when you want to find how to act on stage, all you have to do is ….

Only my dogs will not betray me..

What is there in life if you do not work? There is only sensation, and there are only a few sensations— you cannot live on them. You can only live on….

First I lost weight, then I lost my voice, and now I've lost Onassis..

I am not an angel and do not pretend to be. That is not one of my roles. But I am not a devil, either. I am a woman and a serious artist, and I would….

That is the difference between good teachers and great teachers: good teachers make the best of a pupil's means; great teachers foresee a pupil's end….

An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays p….

ART is domination. It's making people think that for that precise moment in time there is only one way, one voice. Yours..

To sing is an expression of your being, a being which is becoming..

Don't talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddam rules..

Women are not pals enough with men, so we must make ourselves indispensable. After all, we have the greatest weapon in our hands by just being women..

I will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best..

I don't know what happens to me on stage. Something else seems to take over..

Only when I was singing did I feel loved..