There are two sighs of relief every night in the life of an opera manager. The first comes when the curtain goes up The second sigh of relief comes when the final curtain goes down without any disaster, and one realizes, gratefully, that the miracle has happened again.
Interpretation
An opera manager experiences relief at the start and end of a performance, appreciating the successful execution of an art form.
In this quote, Rudolf Bing captures the essence of an opera manager's emotional journey during a performance. The first sigh represents the anticipation and anxiety as the show begins, while the second sigh signifies relief and gratitude when the performance concludes without any problems, highlighting the unpredictable nature of live art and the joy found in its successful execution.
In practice
In a speech about the challenges of theater production.
I wanted to play roles which offered new ways of viewing black women and black people in general- and I have done that. And I have always, whether I needed to pay the rent or not, I've always turned down roles which I thought were stereotypical. And so when I look at my body of work in that respect, I am really happy. Because I feel my work does say something positive and that was what I always set out to do.
Through most of my career, I've made a decent living making movies no one wants to see.
I stumbled onto the best profession to heal my childhood: the only one that lets you release and express whatever is ugly and messy and beautiful about your life. We're in the business of creating human beings. The more we spew, and the more honestly we do it, the better. Try that on Wall Street.
Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from town, country, earth, and all worldly things, that it is truly a blessed gift of God.
That's still the greatest high, that feeling of being in control of 2,000 people. It's me and them, and I like the odds. It's not even so much the funny. It's getting them quiet. In the quiet moments in '700 Sundays,' I just really love that they're getting moved.
On film you put all your energies into a single glance.
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