I regard the people as a great being, inspired by a single idea. This is my problem. I strove to solve it in this opera.

Art is not an end in itself, but a means of addressing humanity.

In poetry there are two giants, rough Homer and fine Shakespere. In music likewise we have two giants, Beethoven, the thinker, and the superthinker Berlioz.

Thanks to nanny, I've got a deep understanding of Russian tales.

Life is like a black hole. You don't know what lies ahead. You can't ever turn back. All you can do is move forward.

To live is to wonder.

I'm a monster, you know. I'm one of the dangerous ones. No you aren't, he promised. Your one of us.

From that moment on, the world was hers for the reading. She would never be lonely again.

There's no good that can come out of secrecy.

I don't like live television, the only tip I have is just pray.

I am one of those who hold that poetry is never so blithe as in a wanton and irregular subject.

Your body is a divine container that will change over your lifetime. Revel in this! Notice it! This is the way of things: the softening of the shell so the soul may emerge.

I don't really get into the power sufficiently, and that's also a problem for me.

If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important Rule of Beauty. “Who cares?”