At HBO, they seem to be well-informed. They make what I think are really quite mature films.

It is essential to do everything possible to attract young people to opera so they can see that it is not some antiquated art form but a repository of the most glorious music and drama that man has created.

Directing an opera is similar to directing a play. The singing must not get in the way of the drama.

In my view, the operas of Carlisle Floyd will find a place in the permanent repertoire.

I thought, This is fabulous. It sent shivers up my spine. I thought, What kinds of people are these that would produce this kind of music in a camp? All the prison camp stories I've seen, and heard of, were about the heroism of men. As I researched this and heard the music, I realized that women were heroic too, on just as grand a scale. And their treatment was just as appalling.

In silent movies, they tended to put the camera down, and everybody walked in front of it and acted, and then they all walked off. Cutting was quite infrequent.

When the music and the characters are flawlessly synchronized, the opera develops an emotional force that movies and plays cannot match.