Rossini would have been a great composer if his teacher had spanked him enough on the backside.

The terms that Sforza Cesarini offered Rossini, 400 Roman Scudi, were not ungenerous, though it must have been galling for Rossini to see the Figaro, Luigi Zamboni, getting almost twice as much, and the Almaviva, Manuel Garcia, being offered three times the amount. Of the first-night cast, only the 'altro buffo', Bartolomeo Botticelli, who played Bartolo, and the 'seconda donna', Elisabetta Lowselet, who played Berta, were paid less than the composer.

Nothing is more intolerable than to have admit to yourself your own errors.

Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine.

Recommend to your children virtue; that alone can make them happy, not gold.

I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.