--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I wrote the opera, I made a deal…" description: "\"When I wrote the opera, I made a deal with myself that for at least an hour a day I would work on it, even if it meant just sitting on my piano bench, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/rufus-wainwright-2260_artistic_when-i-wrote-the-opera-i-made-a-deal-wit_761045.jpg" --- # When I wrote the opera, I made a deal with myself that for… ![“When I wrote the opera, I made a deal with myself that for at least an hour a day I would work on it, even if it meant just sitting on my piano bench, staring into space and thinking about it. It's about keeping it regular, like your bowel movements - let's get real: it's your bodily artistic…” quote by Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/rufus-wainwright-2260_artistic_when-i-wrote-the-opera-i-made-a-deal-wit_761045.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/rufus-wainwright-2260_artistic_when-i-wrote-the-opera-i-made-a-deal-wit_761045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/rufus-wainwright-2260_artistic_when-i-wrote-the-opera-i-made-a-deal-wit_761045.jpg) > “When I wrote the opera, I made a deal with myself that for at least an hour a day I would work on it, even if it meant just sitting on my piano bench, staring into space and thinking about it. It's about keeping it regular, like your bowel movements - let's get real: it's your bodily artistic movements! It comes from the same place.” [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consistent, modest daily work on a creative project builds momentum, similar to regular bodily functions. **In simple terms:** Regular practice, even small, sustains creativity. Key Takeaway Schedule daily creative time, no matter how brief. Themes creativity discipline habit artistic process Mood hopeful pragmatic Type motivational practical When to use this quote - writing sessions - musical practice - visual art - daily journaling Key Concepts routine focus productivity Questions to Reflect On - What small habit can you start today? - How does routine affect your artistic flow? A Different Perspective Creative work can still stall without clear goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Benches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benches/) [Bodily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodily/) [Bodily Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bodily-artistic-5901762/) [Bowel movements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bowel-movements/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Get real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get-real/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Bodily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-bodily-5901763/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-piano-1379722/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Staring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring/) [Staring into space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/staring-into-space/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wrote Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-opera-3066074/) ## Related quotes > [If it really was Queen Elizabeth who demanded to see Falstaff in a comedy, then she showed herself a very perceptive critic. But even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-really-was-queen-elizabeth-who-demanded-to-see-falstaff-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a musician or composer, whenever I am recording a song I imagine myself sitting beside my piano and singing the song with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankit-tiwari/as-a-musician-or-composer-whenever-i-am-recording-a-song-i-imagine/) [Ankit Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankit-tiwari/) > [“Monk's reasons for dancing during a performance: "I get tired sitting down at the piano! That way I can dig the rhythm better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelonious-monk/monk-s-reasons-for-dancing-during-a-performance-i-get-tired-sitting/) [Thelonious Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelonious-monk/) > [The piano has been my friend all my life; it has always comforted me. Writing songs and sitting down at the piano is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-debarge/the-piano-has-been-my-friend-all-my-life-it-has-always-comforted-me/) [El DeBarge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-debarge/) > [To me, a day off is sitting at a piano or with a guitar and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-nielsen/to-me-a-day-off-is-sitting-at-a-piano-or-with-a-guitar-and-writing/) [Rick Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-nielsen/) > [I'm an interpreter of stories. When I perform it's like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-king-cole/i-m-an-interpreter-of-stories-when-i-perform-it-s-like-sitting-down/) [Nat King Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-king-cole/) > [I think my best songs come from me sitting at a piano, bashing my head against a brick wall for hours and hours on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-capaldi/i-think-my-best-songs-come-from-me-sitting-at-a-piano-bashing-my-head/) [Lewis Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-capaldi/) > [I can remember sitting at the piano. My sister was playing, and my brother was singing something, and I said, 'I want to try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-can-remember-sitting-at-the-piano-my-sister-was-playing-and-my/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [I haven't written an awful lot recently, but I think I probably will start again very shortly. Being so much on the road, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-shearing/i-haven-t-written-an-awful-lot-recently-but-i-think-i-probably-will/) [George Shearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-shearing/) > [It was an unforgettable picture to see Chopin sitting at the piano like a clairvoyant, lost in his dreams; to see how his vision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-schumann/it-was-an-unforgettable-picture-to-see-chopin-sitting-at-the-piano/) [Robert Schumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-schumann/) > [I play the piano passionately and inaccurately. Indeed, I worked out the other day that of my seventy-five years; I have spent at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-play-the-piano-passionately-and-inaccurately-indeed-i-worked-out/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [In sixth or seventh grade, my teacher assigned me to write and sing a song. I remember sitting at the piano in my living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravyn-lenae/in-sixth-or-seventh-grade-my-teacher-assigned-me-to-write-and-sing-a/) [Ravyn Lenae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravyn-lenae/) > [Any time I think about sitting at a piano with Barry Manilow, I could start weeping. And then my other idea is that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-everett/any-time-i-think-about-sitting-at-a-piano-with-barry-manilow-i-could/) [Bridget Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-everett/) > [Most people would never admit it, but they'd been bitching since they were born. As soon as their head popped out into that bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/most-people-would-never-admit-it-but-they-d-been-bitching-since-they/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [How much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena as phlegm and tooth decay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/how-much-reverence-can-you-have-for-a-supreme-being-who-finds-it/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## More by Rufus Wainwright > [I have an ounce of Lady Gaga's full-bodied ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-have-an-ounce-of-lady-gaga-s-full-bodied-ambition/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I definitely consider 'Poses' - the whole album in fact - to be kind of a miracle. Like the last breath of that moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-definitely-consider-poses-the-whole-album-in-fact-to-be-kind-of-a/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [You know the question: 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Answer: 'Practise?' Well, in my case, I got there by not practising. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/you-know-the-question-how-do-you-get-to-carnegie-hall-answer-practise/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I've had my ups and downs, and I definitely have a sense - in America, especially - that once you've made your mark and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-ve-had-my-ups-and-downs-and-i-definitely-have-a-sense-in-america/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I'll always be a boulevardier. I have an extreme reverence and romantic longing for all that is decrepit and fatalistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-ll-always-be-a-boulevardier-i-have-an-extreme-reverence-and/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I'm very blessed, mainly because even though my family is mostly in show business, it's really centered around music. My parents were very successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-m-very-blessed-mainly-because-even-though-my-family-is-mostly-in/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Growing up, for years and years I had no idea what the plots of operas were, and that's part of what fascinated me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/growing-up-for-years-and-years-i-had-no-idea-what-the-plots-of-operas/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Once illness strikes, you realize there's not a lot of time for you to do what you really need to do. And there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/once-illness-strikes-you-realize-there-s-not-a-lot-of-time-for-you-to/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I basically have needed to go to the piano and give voice periodically to, you know - I'm always afraid to describe it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-basically-have-needed-to-go-to-the-piano-and-give-voice/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [And you will believe in love And all that it's supposed to be But just until the fish start to smell And you're struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/and-you-will-believe-in-love-and-all-that-it-s-supposed-to-be-but/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [It's about how whenever I fall in love, I have these expectations of the experience being a perfect dream, which, of course, ruins it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/it-s-about-how-whenever-i-fall-in-love-i-have-these-expectations-of/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Crazy as it sounds, I'm a believer in destiny and serendipity, and I have had cosmic experiences all my life. Something told me I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/crazy-as-it-sounds-i-m-a-believer-in-destiny-and-serendipity-and-i/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I think everybody identified at a pretty young age that I was fairly entranced with myself. And that I had to be tempered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-think-everybody-identified-at-a-pretty-young-age-that-i-was-fairly/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [The song is about knowing the end result of every situation you're in, and being able to play it out in your mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/the-song-is-about-knowing-the-end-result-of-every-situation-you-re-in/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I like to make the mundane fabulous whenever I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-like-to-make-the-mundane-fabulous-whenever-i-can/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) [Explore all 176 Rufus Wainwright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) ## More Artistic quotes > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [It took me a long time to get to where I am, but I am here and it is everywhere I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-get-to-where-i-am-but-i-am-here-and-it-is/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [When we idealize the real, we sacrifice to artistic fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/when-we-idealize-the-real-we-sacrifice-to-artistic-fancy/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [I think once the artistic world of the type designer merged with the scientific world of the computer programmer, you began to see this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-think-once-the-artistic-world-of-the-type-designer-merged-with-the/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Niches set back in the walls contained polished marble statues of entwined bodies. Will looked away from them hastily, and then back. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/niches-set-back-in-the-walls-contained-polished-marble-statues-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) [Browse all 1,574 Artistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I wrote the opera, I made a deal with myself that for at least an hour a day I would work on it, even if it meant just sitting on my piano bench, staring into space and thinking about it. It's about keeping it regular, like your bowel movements - let's get real: it's your bodily artistic movements! 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