Opera Quotes

“The idea of an opera for television has to do with the fact that you can get very close to the person.”

“An opera is a collection of beautiful lies.”

“I wanted to invent a new kind of opera, an American opera. The idea of American opera has been a problem for 150 years because of the problem of the language.”

“My operas are about a kind of landscape of characters and events. They’re not about a particular story, like a story that you would tell your friend.”

“Verdi is the composer of the people. He speaks to the heart.”

“Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.”

“The thing that I wanted to do was to create an American opera.”

“I am an actress who sings.”

“A libretto is not a literary work. It is a guide for a composer.”

“In Italy, opera is not just entertainment; it's part of our DNA.”

“When I write an opera, I think of the singers; I think of their voices; I think of what will show them off.”

“This is a serious house for serious artists.”

“My Prince Igor is essentially a national opera, which can be of interest only to us Russians.”

“The Three Tenors was a way of bringing opera to the people.”

“The libretto is the floor plan of the house. The music is the house.”

“Wagner is a composer who is not for the faint-hearted.”

“I think 'The Phantom of the Opera' is a better show with a soprano in the lead.”

“When I have a role to create, I have to be the person. I have to be the character. I have to think like her. I have to feel what she feels. I can't be myself.”

“No opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.”

“Opera is the one place where you can be completely irrational.”