50 Opera Quotes that Make You Feel the Vibrato

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published August 12, 2023

These opera quotes are sure to be music to your ears.

Opera is an ancient musical tradition, so one can easily find opera quotes that are decades or even centuries old.

If you are also looking for some inspiring opera quotes, this article can be helpful.

Here, we have tried to gather the most relevant and interesting opera quotes that are worthy to share.

In addition to our quotes, there is valuable information about opera, its history, and other associated aspects.

A Brief Introduction to Opera

Opera is an engaging form of art that is both expressive and entertaining.

It involves various elements like theater, music, and storytelling.

Opera has stood the test of time and it still refers to as a powerful source of entertainment.

There are numerous popular and prestigious opera houses around the globe.

Opera continues to offer high-quality entertainment to the audiences.

This medium is known for its artistic brilliance and depth of emotion.

Origin and Evolution

Talking about the origins of opera, it dates back to the 16th century.

Italy is considered the land where opera was first performed.

The term “Opera” is derived from the Latin word “Opus” meaning composition or work.

The first complete artistic work that is recognized as opera is “Dafne”.

It was performed in 1597 by Jacopo Peri.

Key Elements of Opera

Opera is a combination of drama and music.

Hence, it requires the collaboration of librettists, composers, singers, and musicians.

Below are the different key elements associated with opera:

Vocal Artistry
The Libretto
Orchestration
Stagecraft and Set Design
Emotional Power

Genres and Styles of Opera

Opera has undergone various stages of evolution.

This resulted in the introduction of different styles and genres of opera.

Each of these types of opera does reflect the strength of artistic and cultural tendencies.

Here are a few of the most important genres of opera:

Opera Seria
Opera Buffa
Romantic Opera
Modern Opera

Opera Seria

It is a serious and dignified genre of opera.

This type of opera dominated the 18th century.

It usually featured mythological and historical themes.

Opera Buffa

Opera Buffa is a much lighter and more comedic genre.

It emerged as an alternative to opera seria.

This form of opera is generally characterized by funny, relatable, and amusing content.

Romantic Opera

As the name suggests, this opera genre relies on themes like love and emotions.

Romantic opera flourished in the 19th century and is still popular among opera lovers.

Modern Opera

Contemporary composers love to add something new to opera.

Modern opera is gaining popularity due to its unconventional storytelling and the use of modern technologies.

So you can easily witness its new themes and styles.

Top 10 Opera Quotes

Explore the enchanting world of opera with the top 10 opera quotes presented here.

1. “Opera is really fun.” — Renee Fleming

2. “I’d like to direct more operas.” — Simon Callow

3. “Growing up, my dad took me to the opera.” — Ava Max

4. “Everybody is always in the middle of their own opera.” — Greta Gerwig

5. “Opera is given so little attention in the national press.” — Carlisle Floyd

6. “Opera is a beautiful and important diversion for me.” — Luciano Pavarotti

7. “Of all the noises known to man, opera is the most expensive.” — Moliere

8. “Like an opera singer, I am able to sing out my song in paint.” — Tony Curtis

9. “The opera is to music what a bawdy house is to a cathedral.” — H. L. Mencken

10. “I love opera, I love writing for the voice, I love telling stories with music.” — Anthony Davis

Opera Quotes from Sopranos & Singers

Here is a collection of quotes from singers whose voices always captivate listeners. Gain insight into their minds about opera.

11. “Lots of opera singers are just boring.” — Anna Netrebko

12. “Opera is for a lifetime, not just a minute.” — Kiri Te Kanawa

14. “Mostly what I listen to when I turn on my little iPod is opera.” — Joan Baez

13. “I know I’m an opera singer, but we’re actors, too.” — Sondra Radvanovsky

15. “Above all, I am an opera singer. This is how people will remember me.” — Luciano Pavarotti

16. “I was an acting opera singer, and that’s one of the reasons I left opera.” — George Gaynes

17. “To be a famously successful opera singer. I wanted that since I was eight.” — Danielle de Niese

18. “Very few opera singers in history have been able to cross into popular music.” — Renee Fleming

19. “The first rule in opera is the first rule in life: see to everything yourself.” — Nellie Melba

20. “I never wanted to be an opera singer. I wanted to be an actress, maybe a rock singer.” — Kristine Opolais

Opera Quotes On Voices, Drama, and the Art of Expression

Discover the enchanting world of opera through these quotes, celebrating its captivating voices, dramatic flair, and expressive artistry.

21. “I’d hate this to get out, but I really like opera.” — Ford Frick

22. “Opera? Just what the world needs: more fat women screaming.” — Peter Boyle

23. “There was always dance in opera until people forgot to keep it going.” — Mark Morris

24. “Opera happens because a large number of things amazingly fail to go wrong.” — Terry Pratchett

25. “One of the most difficult things in opera is for people to suspend disbelief.” — Simon Rattle

26. “Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian.” — H. L. Mencken

27. “There’s no half-singing in the shower; you’re either a rock star or an opera diva.” — Josh Groban

28. “Opera is the ultimate art form. It has singing and music and drama and dance and emotion and story.” — Diane Paulus

29. “People are wrong when they say opera is not what it used to be. It is what it used to be. That is what’s wrong with it.” — Noel Coward

30. “People have this idea that opera singers are overweight and sit at home eating bonbons. But I consider myself an athlete.” — Sondra Radvanovsky

Singing Opera Quotes

The following quotes provide insight into what it takes and what it’s like to sing opera.

31. “I would love to sing opera.” — Leona Lewis

32. “In opera, there is always too much singing.” — Claude Debussy

33. “You don’t have to make a grand, exaggerated sound to sing opera.” — Andris Nelsons

34. “When an opera star sings her head off, she usually improves her appearance.” — Victor Borge

35. “Opera is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings.” — Robert Benchley

36. “I love singing opera, but the world surrounding it is not me. I want to be barefoot.” — Rhiannon Giddens

37. “College football, acting, opera singing – I approached them all in the same obsessive way.” — Forest Whitaker

38. “To sing opera, one needs two things: the voice and the passion – and above all, the passion.” — Andrea Bocelli

39. “I’d love to have the time to learn to sing opera properly rather than bellowing half-formed fragments of melody in exuberant moments.” — Tim O’Reilly

40. “In Montreal, when I grew up, I’d go to the Notre Dame Basilica, a gorgeous cathedral in town. I’d listen to huge symphony orchestras and Pavarotti singing operas; that was absolutely marvelous.” — Christopher Plummer

Phantom of the Opera Quotes

These quotes highlight the Phantom of the Opera, a strange and wonderful story.

41. “The Phantom of the Opera is about love.” — Andrew Lloyd Webber

42. “Doom is a classic supervillain, akin to the Phantom of the Opera.” — MF Doom

43. “I used to know all the lyrics to all the songs from the Phantom of the Opera.” — Mallory Jansen

44. “You hear about Broadway your whole life, and I learned what it meant to work on Broadway in the Phantom of the Opera.” — Aaron Lazar

45. “We got to see Sondheim shows, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and all sorts of stuff. When you’re 10 or 11 years old, it’s just magnificent.” — Josh Groban

46. “Every year, I go to Broadway to see a musical – I like the music. I saw Mamma Mia; I saw Les Miserables; I saw Phantom of the Opera like six, seven times.” — Rafael Nadal

47. “The shows we saw in high school, like Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon, were thrilling.” — Stephen Karam

48. “Musicals are also conflicts between two worlds. And by those criteria, The Color Purple is actually exactly the kind of story that makes for a great musical. Yes, it’s got hard stuff in it, but so does Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.” — Marsha Norman

49. “I went to see Phantom of the Opera with my grandma and my mom when I was very little. The stage, the voice, the music… Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has been a massive inspiration to me for some time – the storytelling, that deliciously somber undertone in his music.” — Lady Gaga

50. “I was very young, and I was on vacation with my family, and there was a retrospective of old films and one of them was The Phantom of the Opera with Claude Rains that was in color. It was something very important for my career because I began to follow these stories that were morbid.” — Dario Argento