Opera: the graveyard of melody

Opera: the graveyard of melody

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

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.

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.

An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in read more

An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.

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.

I'd like to see a nude opera, because when they hit those high notes, I bet you can really see read more

I'd like to see a nude opera, because when they hit those high notes, I bet you can really see it in those genitals

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.