Giuseppe Verdi

I adore art... when I am alone with my notes, my heart pounds, and the tears stream from my eyes, and my emotion and my inspiration are so great that I have to sing them out loud.

To copy the truth is a good thing, but to invent the truth is better, much better.

The artist must be a man of his time.

I want to write for the theatre, and for the theatre alone.

Let us return to the old ways, and it will be progress.

I am not a learned musician, but I am a man of the theatre.

The more I study, the more I am convinced that the old masters were the greatest.

I have always believed that the truth is the best guide.

When I compose, I think of the stage, of the effect, of the drama.

I love music, and I love the theatre, and I love my country.

The public is always right.

I am a peasant, and I have always remained a peasant.

I have never sought applause, but I have always sought to do my best.

The art of music is not to be found in the notes, but in the spaces between them.

I am not a man of words, but a man of deeds.

The theatre is a great school of life.

I have always tried to be sincere in my art.

The most beautiful music is that which comes from the heart.

I have always believed that art should be for everyone.

The artist must be free.