One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.

I've been buying the same lambrusco from Correggio [a town between Reggio-Emilia and Modena] since 1965.

I'm a perfectionist, and I always think that I can do better what I have done, even if it's good.

The reason fat people are happy is that the nerves are well protected.

I want to be famous everywhere.

In opera, as with any performing art, to be in great demand and to command high fees you must be good of course, but you must also be famous. The two are different things.

It is not always a matter of wild ovations and legendary performances. Sometimes you are just happy to get through an opera without trouble.