W. H. Auden by Carl Van Vechten (1939)
No good opera plot can be sensible, for people do not sing when they are feeling sensible.

Source

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  • W. H. Auden, TIME magazine, December 29, 1961. Quoted in: And I Quote: The Definitive Collection of Quotes, Sayings, and Jokes for the Contemporary Speechmaker, Ashton Applewhite, William R. Evans, Tripp Evans, Andrew Frothingham, Macmillan, 2003, ISBN 0312307446, p. 292.