Rudolf Bing

“I run this place like a dictatorship, a benevolent dictatorship, but a dictatorship nonetheless.”

“Good manners are a sign of weakness.”

“The public is not always right.”

“Art is not democratic. It is not for the people. It is for the artists.”

“To be general manager of the Metropolitan Opera is like being a hydrant in a world of dogs.”

“This is a serious house for serious artists.”

“I have no enemies, but I am intensely disliked by my friends.”

“The B Minor Mass is the most boring piece of music ever written.”

“I like my singers to be intelligent, but not too intelligent.”

“Sentiment is the last refuge of the talentless.”

“An opera house is a graveyard for old sopranos.”

“Tradition is what you can get away with.”

“I don't know anything about music. In my line of work, you don't have to.”

“I have no prejudice against anyone, as long as they are good.”

“I am not difficult. I am just single-minded.”

“If you want to be loved, don't be an opera manager.”