--- title: "What on earth has given opera its prestige in western civilisation - … — Kenneth Clark Quote #29 | QuotesBy.net" description: "What on earth has given opera its prestige in western civilisation - a prestige that has outlasted so many different fashions and ways of thought? Wh… — a quote by Kenneth Clark." image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png" --- > # What on earth has given opera its prestige in western civilisation - a prestige that has outlasted so many different fashions and ways of thought? Why are people prepared to sit silently for three hours listening to a performance of which they do not understand a word and of which they very seldom know the plot? Why do quite small towns all over Germany and Italy still devote a large portion of their budgets to this irrational entertainment? Partly, of course, because it is a display of skill, like a football match. But chiefly, I think, because it is irrational. 'What is too silly to be said may be sung' - well, yes; but what is too subtle to be said, or too deeply felt, or too revealing or too mysterious - these things can also be sung and can only be sung. [Kenneth Clark](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark)\#29[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CWhat%20on%20earth%20has%20given%20opera%20its%20prestige%20in%20western%20civilisation%20-%20a%20prestige%20that%20has%20outlasted%20so%20many%20different%20fashions%20and%20ways%20of%20thought%3F%20Why%20are%20people%20prepared%20to%20sit%20silently%20for%20three%20hours%20listening%20to%20a%20performance%20of%20which%20they%20do%20not%20understand%20a%20word%20and%20of%20which%20they%20very%20seldom%20know%20the%20plot%3F%20Why%20do%20quite%20small%20towns%20all%20over%20Germany%20and%20Italy%20still%20devote%20a%20large%20portion%20of%20their%20budgets%20to%20this%20irrational%20entertainment%3F%20Partly%2C%20of%20course%2C%20because%20it%20is%20a%20display%20of%20skill%2C%20like%20a%20football%20match.%20But%20chiefly%2C%20I%20think%2C%20because%20it%20is%20irrational.%20%27What%20is%20too%20silly%20to%20be%20said%20may%20be%20sung%27%20-%20well%2C%20yes%3B%20but%20what%20is%20too%20subtle%20to%20be%20said%2C%20or%20too%20deeply%20felt%2C%20or%20too%20revealing%20or%20too%20mysterious%20-%20these%20things%20can%20also%20be%20sung%20and%20can%20only%20be%20sung.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Kenneth%20Clark%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F29%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CWhat%20on%20earth%20has%20given%20opera%20its%20prestige%20in%20western%20civilisation%20-%20a%20prestige%20that%20has%20outlasted%20so%20many%20different%20fashions%20and%20ways%20of%20thought%3F%20Why%20are%20people%20prepared%20to%20sit%20silently%20for%20three%20hours%20listening%20to%20a%20performance%20of%20which%20they%20do%20not%20understand%20a%20word%20and%20of%20which%20they%20very%20seldom%20know%20the%20plot%3F%20Why%20do%20quite%20small%20towns%20all%20over%20Germany%20and%20Italy%20still%20devote%20a%20large%20portion%20of%20their%20budgets%20to%20this%20irrational%20entertainment%3F%20Partly%2C%20of%20course%2C%20because%20it%20is%20a%20display%20of%20skill%2C%20like%20a%20football%20match.%20But%20chiefly%2C%20I%20think%2C%20because%20it%20is%20irrational.%20%27What%20is%20too%20silly%20to%20be%20said%20may%20be%20sung%27%20-%20well%2C%20yes%3B%20but%20what%20is%20too%20subtle%20to%20be%20said%2C%20or%20too%20deeply%20felt%2C%20or%20too%20revealing%20or%20too%20mysterious%20-%20these%20things%20can%20also%20be%20sung%20and%20can%20only%20be%20sung.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20Kenneth%20Clark&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F29%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FKenneth-Clark%2F29%2F) ## More from Kenneth Clark 1. > Opera, next to Gothic architecture, is one of the strangest inventions of western man. It could not have been foreseen by any logical process. [Permalink to quote \#28](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/28/ "Permalink to quote 28") 2. > We are so much accustomed to the humanitarian outlook that we forget how little it counted in earlier ages of civilisation. Ask any decent person in England or… [Permalink to quote \#30](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/30/ "Permalink to quote 30") 3. > As for the Messiah, it is, like Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, one of those rare works that appeal immediately to everyone, and yet is indisputably a masterp… [Permalink to quote \#27](https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/27/ "Permalink to quote 27") ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What on earth has given opera its prestige in western civilisation - a prestige that has outlasted so many different fashions and ways of thought? Why are people prepared to sit silently for three hours listening to a performance of which they do not understand a word and of which they very seldom know the plot? Why do quite small towns all over Germany and Italy still devote a large portion of their budgets to this irrational entertainment? Partly, of course, because it is a display of skill, like a football match. But chiefly, I think, because it is irrational. 'What is too silly to be said may be sung' - well, yes; but what is too subtle to be said, or too deeply felt, or too revealing or too mysterious - these things can also be sung and can only be sung.", "url": "https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/29/", "spokenByCharacter": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth Clark" } } { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://quotesby.net/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Authors", "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kenneth Clark", "item": "https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Quote #29", "item": "https://quotesby.net/Kenneth-Clark/29/" } ] } ```