On stage, I am in the dark.
MARIA CALLASOn stage, I am in the dark.
MARIA CALLASI will not be sued! I have the voice of an angel!
MARIA CALLASReal 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.
MARIA CALLASSome 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.
MARIA CALLASI would not kill my enemies, but I will make them get down on their knees. I will, I can, I must.
MARIA CALLASI 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.
MARIA CALLASWhen music fails to agree to the ear, to soothe the ear and the heart and the senses, then it has missed the point.
MARIA CALLASWhen I did not become enemies, then I understand that there was nothing standing.
MARIA CALLASOnly when I was singing did I feel loved.
MARIA CALLASDon’t come to me with your troubles. I have to work for my money and you are young enough to work too. If you can’t make enough money to live on you can jump out of the window or drown yourself.
MARIA CALLASI 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.
MARIA CALLASWhat is there in life if you do not work? There is only sensation, and there are only a few sensations— you cannot live on them. You can only live on work, by work, through work. How can you live with self-respect if you do not do things as well as lies in you?
MARIA CALLASParis dictates fashion to the whole world.
MARIA CALLASI will always be as difficult as necessary to achieve the best.
MARIA CALLASThe public is a monster and that is why I am not eager to return to the stage.
MARIA CALLASTo sing is an expression of your being, a being which is becoming.
MARIA CALLAS