I've always gravitated towards opera, and the Royal Opera House is quite possibly the greatest opera house on earth.

I definitely have a Luddite's approach to what's going on. I find that as I get older, I get stupider.

I've developed a bit of a fascination with John Denver. I always thought he was kind of tacky and somewhat revolting and had a kind of simplistic weirdness, but on second listen, he actually did have an incredible voice, and the blatant naiveté of his work is straight-edge, in a way.

I was keenly aware that I didn't want to draw on too many typically doomed aspects of the fated singer. Whether it's Judy Garland or Norma Desmond, there is this tragic quality to older women that one can revel in, and you want it to be more three-dimensional than that. So it was important for the character to be strong and resilient, because there are so many victims in opera.

I think I've done a pretty fantastic job, but of course I want to sell millions of records.

In the music business, to survive for so long, you have to be able to cut off from your emotions sometimes. And being a father, you're faced with that situation. I know that my father was, with me. I understand why he had to be distant, because to rip yourself away, time after time, is almost more devastating.

One of the main destructive forces within our family has been these runaway egos. I think if you look at any show business family, that struggle exists.