"Certainly the music was to some extent to blame, but then so too was the performance."
- on the failure of Un Giorno di Regno
"It is better to invert reality than to copy it. "
"Success is impossible for me if I cannot write as my heart dictates! "
"I don't intend to condemn the public; I allow its severity, I accept its whistles on condition that I'm not asked to be grateful for its applause."
"The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor or a prima donna."
"For dramatic effectiveness, it seems to me that the best material I have yet put to music is Rigoletto. It has the most powerful situations, it has variety, vitality, pathos; all the dramatic developments result from the frivolous, licentious character of the Duke. Hence Rigoletto's fears, Gilda's passions, etc., which give rise to many dramatic situations, including the scene of the quartet, which so far as effect is concerned, will always be one of the finest our theater can boost."
