There are two things I like stiff and one of them's jelly.

The first rule in opera is the first rule in life: see to everything yourself

What are we singers but the silver-voiced messengers of the poet and the musician?

Always sing below your potential.

You won’t be famous until people start saying the worst things they can about you. Don’t worry! It’s a good sign!

The eternal task of song can never be finished in a single lifetime. That is the beauty and fascination of the art. Once you begin to phrase finely, you will feel more joy in the beautiful finish of a beautiful phrase than that caused by the loudest applause of an immense audience. The latter excites for a moment; the former endures forever.

If I'd been a housemaid I'd have been the best in Australia - I couldn't help it. It's got to be perfection for me.