Nellie Melba
The first rule in opera is the first rule in life: see to everything yourself.
Always sing below your potential.
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.
Do everything yourself.
One of the drawbacks of fame is that one can never escape from it.
The first rule in opera is the first rule in life: see to everything yourselfCollection: Art
Music is not written in red, white and blue. It is written in the heart's blood of the composer.Collection: Art
There are two things I like stiff and one of them's jelly.Collection: Two
You won’t be famous until people start saying the worst things they can about you. Don’t worry! It’s a good sign!Collection: People
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.Collection: Beautiful
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.Collection: Writing
What are we singers but the silver-voiced messengers of the poet and the musician?Collection: Art