To me, the art of music is magnificent, and I cannot bear to see it treated in a shabby way.

It's a very terrible thing to be Maria Callas, because it's a question of trying to understand something you can never really understand.

I will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best.

I am not an angel and do not pretend to be. That is not one of my roles. But I am not the devil either. I am a woman and a serious artist, and I would like so to be judged.

My poor sight gives me an advantage. I can’t see the people in the audience who are scratching their heads while I am lost in my role and giving everything I have to the drama.

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

Don’t talk to me about rules, dear. Wherever I stay I make the goddam rules.

I admire Tebaldi’s tone; it’s beautiful – also some beautiful phrasing. Sometimes, I actually wish I had her voice.

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.

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.