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.

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

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.

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

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: the graveyard of melody

Opera: the graveyard of melody

I wouldn't mind seeing opera die. Ever since I was a boy, I regarded opera as a ponderous anachronism, almost read more

I wouldn't mind seeing opera die. Ever since I was a boy, I regarded opera as a ponderous anachronism, almost the equivalent of smoking

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.

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.