You see why we play so many crazy ladies. We have to be crazy to start with.

I never breathe through the nose, not when I'm singing. In the opera, you don't have so much time. That's fine at the beginning of an opera or after somebody else has been doing an aria, and you want to get a good fresh start.

You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

My voice had a long, nonstop career. It deserves to be put to bed with quiet and dignity, not yanked out every once in a while to see if it can still do what it used to do. It can't.

I think you have to take everything that looks like a blow and turn it into a triumph. This is where my energy comes from: I just won't be licked.

You can't imitate; all our faces are constructed differently... and the vocal cords; otherwise, we'd all sound alike. I don't think anybody should ever teach by imitating.