In opera, everyone's watching from a fixed viewpoint, and that really challenges you. Lighting, the sets, stage groupings, the music-but doesn't relate too much to film.

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

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.

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

The number of opera houses around the world and the high attendance rates show that opera an art form that is more popular than ever.

When we were trying to get the money together for the film, one reason that was consistently given for not investing in it was that everyone kept saying no one could direct it well enough to entertain an audience for 100 minutes essentially watching three people chatting in the kitchen.

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