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 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.

With a film, I do my best to understand the author's intentions and try to bring the characters to life.

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.

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

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.

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