A student will send me an urgent appeal to hear her, saying she is poor and wants my advice as to whether it is worth while to continue her studies. I invariably refuse such requests.

Inspired by the purse rather than the soul, the mercenary side fairly screams in many of the works put out by every day American publishers.

The real artist has no idea that he is sacrificing himself for art. He does “what he does for one reason and one reason only-he can't help doing it”

Just as the bird sings or the butterfly soars, because it is his natural characteristic, so the artist works.

French is, in many ways, more difficult for an English-speaking person to sing. It is so full of complex and trying vowels. It requires the utmost subtlety.

When the student has her voice under complete control, it is safe to take up the lyric repertoire of Mendelssohn, Old English Songs, etc. How simple and charming they are!

The sincerity of the art worker must permeate the song as naturally as the green leaves break through the dead branches in springtime.

Vocal study before age 20 is likely to be injurious, though some survive it in the hands of very careful and understanding teachers.

The student who deceives himself into thinking that he is giving his life like an ascetic in the spirit of sacrifice for art, is the victim of a deplorable species of egotism.

We are rich in the quantity of songs rather than in the quality. The singer has to go through hundreds of compositions before he finds one that really says something.

In the piano, one has the instrument complete before he begins; but in the case of the voice, the instrument has to be developed by study.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, and then throw it in the face of the person who gave you the lemons until they give you the oranges you originally asked for.

A woman should never go so far with someone, that she cannot come back alone...not for love..not for society…not for herself. It took me so long to find my way back.

God created man and then woman but the atheist created himself.

Free time is my enemy. I recognized early on I'm not a guy who should have a lot of time to contemplate the mysteries of the universe. I need to stay busy... That's just the nature of my demons.

If you lose money you lose much, If you lose friends you lose more, If you lose faith you lose all.

China and the U.S. are the two largest importers of oil. They are the two largest emitters of carbon.

I think Americans are wonderful film actors - the best in the world - but they are a very contemporary race and they look forward all the time.

True disruption means threatening your existing product line and your past investments. Breakthrough products disrupt current lines of businesses.

When I get angry, I start thinking about the people involved and they don't deserve my time.

Warner Bros offered me the next Batman, and the only reason that I didn't do it was because of The Saint.