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 part of my life long after I've left the opera house.

I cannot switch my voice. My voice is not like an elevator going up and down.

I would like to be Maria, but there is La Callas who demands that I carry myself with her dignity.

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

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

It's a terrible thing to go through life thinking that you have a rock on your side when you haven't.

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 realise they're only made of sand.