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.
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.
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 ends.
I don't know what happens to me on stage. Something else seems to take over.
Good teachers make the best of a pupil's means; great teachers foresee a pupil's ends.
I would not kill my enemies, but I will make them get down on their knees. I will, I can, I must.
I cannot switch my voice. My voice is not like an elevator going up and down.
First I lost my voice, then I lost my figure and then I lost Onassis.
If I have stepped on some people at times because I am at the top, it couldn't be helped. What should I do if someone gets hurt... retire?
On stage, I am in the dark.
When my enemies stop hissing, I shall know I'm slipping.
Love is so much better when you're not married.
I don't need the money, dear. I work for art.
I would like to be Maria, but there is La Callas who demands that I carry myself with her dignity.
When music fails to agree to the ear, to soothe the ear and the heart and the senses, then it has missed its point.
Don't talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddam rules.
It's a terrible thing to go through life thinking that you have a rock on your side when you haven't.
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 prepare myself for rehearsals like I would for marriage.
I was always too mature for my age - and not very happy. I had no young friends. I wish I could go back to those days. If I could only live it all again, how I would play and enjoy other girls. What a fool I was.
Don’t talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddam rules.
I belong to the givers. I want to give a little happiness even if I haven’t had much for myself. Music has enriched my life and, hopefully - through me, a little - the public’s. If anyone left an opera house feeling more happy and at peace, I achieved my purpose.
There must be a law against forcing children to perform at an early age. Children should have a wonderful childhood. They should not be given too much responsibility.
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.
ART is domination. It's making people think that for that precise moment in time there is only one way, one voice. Yours.
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 like so to be judged.
To sing is an expression of your being, a being which is becoming.
First I lost weight, then I lost my voice, and now I've lost Onassis.
Only when I was singing did I feel loved.
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.
