When I was 24 I went to Nigeria and it was such a culture shock, growing up in Australia and suddenly being the only white man in this unit full of black men.

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.

Quite a few operas are still being commissioned around the world, although nothing apart from audience popularity can ensure more than a few performances.

I don't rehearse films as much as opera or theatre. When I began directing films I thought a long rehearsal was a good idea. Experience showed me that the best performance was often left in a rehearsal room.

Perhaps the most difficult thing is shooting scenes set 6,000 feet up in the mountains of Mexico.

For a director, the most challenging scenes are the dialogue scenes.

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