Almanac: Constant Lambert on Puccini

“I once made a list of all the things that everyone lies about. Much of it is, alas, unprintable in this savagely Puritan age, but I remember that sandwiched between a reluctance to reveal the fact that one had not read The Bridge of San Luis Rey and that one couldn’t compose away from the piano came the habit of disguising one’s affection for the operas of Puccini.”
Constant Lambert, “Puccini: A Vindication”