My parents were serious working musicians, but they were not stars - not like pop stars that you have now. They had to make a living and that meant touring, working hard, going on the road - and we were roped in.

There's no life without humour. It can make the wonderful moments of life truly glorious, and it can make tragic moments bearable.

Writing an opera and premiering in England, you could say I was going right into the eye of the storm and I came out successfully. A little tattered and bruised, but so what, I made it.

I do not consider myself a guitar player. My father is a guitar player - I'm not.

I have a three-year-old daughter, which makes me more environmentally conscious. For me, it's about the future.

I have never cooked a meal in my life and always end up paying for dozens of people to eat with me.

I am under no illusion that I will ever be the greatest opera composer in the world, with Wagner and Verdi and Strauss before me. I think my work could fit very nicely into musicals, though.