Beverly Sills Quotes

13 Sourced Quotes

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

Beverly Sills
I've always tried to go a step past wherever people expected me to end up. I'm not about to change now.

Beverly Sills
A happy woman is one who has no cares at all; a cheerful woman is one who has cares but doesn't let them get her down.

Beverly Sills
Opera is an extremely disciplined art form, and every excess a singer indulges in has a direct effect on the voice.

Beverly Sills
So long as it doesn't get to the point where you don't remember whose opera you're listening to, I'm willing to experiment.

Beverly Sills
There were times in my career... when I felt like a trapeze artist doing dangerous somersaults without a net underneath. When you execute those somersaults flawlessly, the audience feels the same sense of triumph the performer does.

Beverly Sills
Why should I go when it's going so good? … I lived through the garbage. I might as well dine on the caviar.

Beverly Sills
The press frequently sneers at the hype devoted to a superstar, but the press itself is responsible for all the hype.

Beverly Sills
I needed to sing — desperately. My voice poured out more easily because I was no longer singing for anyone's approval; I was beyond caring about the public's reaction, I just wanted to enjoy myself. … I had found a kind of serenity, a new maturity, as a result of my childrens' problems. I didn't feel better or stronger than anyone else but it seemed no longer important whether everyone loved me or not — more important now was for me to love them. Feeling that way turns your whole life around; living becomes the act of giving.

Beverly Sills
There is a growing strength in women but it's in the forehead, not the forearm. Men will always be attracted to women with nice soft arms and a fleshy bosom.

Beverly Sills
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.

Beverly Sills
I really do believe I can accomplish a great deal with a big grin, I know some people find that disconcerting, but that doesn't matter.

Beverly Sills
Opera is music AND drama. I'm prepared to sacrifice the beautiful note for the meaningful sound any time... I can make a pretty tone as well as anyone, but there are times when the drama of a scene demands the opposite of a pretty sound.

Beverly Sills