Parsifal - the kind of opera that starts at six o'clock and after it has been going three hours, you read more

Parsifal - the kind of opera that starts at six o'clock and after it has been going three hours, you look at your watch and it says 6:20

Critics complained it wasn't opera, it wasn't a musical. You give someone something delicious to eat and they complain because read more

Critics complained it wasn't opera, it wasn't a musical. You give someone something delicious to eat and they complain because they have no name for it.

Any subject is good for opera if the composer feels it so intently he must sing it out.

Any subject is good for opera if the composer feels it so intently he must sing it out.

Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.

Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings.

Going to the opera, like getting drunk, is a sin that carries its own punishment with it.

Going to the opera, like getting drunk, is a sin that carries its own punishment with it.

Give me a laundry-list and I'll set it to music.

Give me a laundry-list and I'll set it to music.

Opera stars know that biology is destiny. Sometime in their 50s or early 60s, the powerful, flexible and ultimately mysterious read more

Opera stars know that biology is destiny. Sometime in their 50s or early 60s, the powerful, flexible and ultimately mysterious instrument that has been the source of their artistry frays, cracks and disappears.

But to me the actual sound of the words is all important; I feel always that the words complete the read more

But to me the actual sound of the words is all important; I feel always that the words complete the music and must never be swallowed up in it.

I seem to write an opera about every 20 years; if you live long enough you can write four operas. read more

I seem to write an opera about every 20 years; if you live long enough you can write four operas. I finished my third in 1970.