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

If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must understand first and foremost, that I am an Australian.

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

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

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.

Music is not written in red, white and blue. It is written in the heart's blood of the composer.