Making a living in the arts, though, creates so many jobs for other people.

I have had five phenomenal children, a great husband and, even though we are separated, we are good friends.

My book has a lot of parts of my life that people don't know about.

It makes one a better person to have had hardships and to have overcome hardships and not to blame anybody else for your mistakes.

Young people can get very discouraged and get hooked on drugs or on alcohol because of problems they perceive as insurmountable. It is important that they realize a mistake need not ruin their future, but they must also know that not everything in life is a bed of roses.

Perhaps, once I am gone, the one thing I might be remembered for is having sung a great deal of Mahler with a great many phenomenal conductors. It is wonderful music, very spiritual.

After Bruno Walter, my career went in leaps and bounds. I have had 35 years of a career that is just incredible, and a wonderful time all over the world.