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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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