131 Quotes About Opera

It was nothing like Roxanne singing, where it seemed that everyone's heart would have to wait until she finished before it could beat again.

Whatever comes, I'll take the good--and send the rest to hell.

Having considered Handel's tumultuous opera career and his first term at Covent Garden in the 1730s, perhaps we may dare to suggest he was one of the foremost pioneers in establishing autonomy within the traditional system of music patronage, notwithstanding his efforts to become an independent impressario often proved disappointing.

If you would dance, my pretty Count, I'll play the tune on my little guitar..

La dictadura es como una aria y nunca llega a ser ópera.

If it really was Queen Elizabeth who demanded to see Falstaff in a comedy, then she showed herself a very perceptive critic. But even in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Falstaff has not and could not have found his true home because Shakespeare was only a poet. For that he was to wait nearly two hundred years till Verdi wrote his last opera. Falstaff is not the only case of a character whose true home is the world of music; others are Tristan, Isolde and Don Giovanni.

AESTHETICS OF OPERADon’t sing an ariaTo someone who can’tSing one back.

What sort of person," said Salzella patiently, "sits down and writes a maniacal laugh? And all those exclamation marks, you notice? Five? A sure sign of someone who wears his underpants on his head. Opera can do that to a man.

Vieron al anciano atravesar los raíles del tranvía; con pasos torpes, como si tropezara, encaminarse al parterre del centro de la plaza. Atravesó la primera hilera de coches detenidos y se adentró en la zona despejada. Súbitamente cayó de bruces, como si le hubieran dado un empujón. Pero, aparte de él, en la plaza no se veía un alma. Se oyó el impacto. Quedó tendido en el asfalto con los brazos extendidos y la cara contra el suelo. De lejos parecía una gigantesca cucaracha aplastada.