The artist is something of an outsider in America. I have always felt that America does not value its artists, certainly not in the sense that the Europeans do.

Our most intimate contact with civilizations long since dust has been through the art which has survived them.

Anyone who creates something new or does something different artistically is going to be singled out.

I think anything that is expressed directly and as honestly as possible will last.

When I've seen my operas in Europe, they have always struck me as more American than when I hear them here. I can't tell you what that phenomenon is.

It seems to me opera is just as relevant as an expressive art as anything else.

There is something inherent in our democracy that tends to want to level. America is a little uncomfortable in the presence of someone who is distinctly superior in whatever way.