I will take my coffee black / never snack / hang with the wolves who are sheepish.

My greatest experiences in the theatre and the most religious experiences in my life - of which going to the opera is one for me - have been with the Romantic composers' repertoire: it's Wagner, it's Strauss, Verdi, Puccini. That era gets me every time.

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

I bemoan the fact that all my famous friends have places in St. Bart's and I have to go to Montauk.

Climate change has always been sort of my main focus. I think also with [what happened in Fukushima, Japan] there's still a lot to think about in terms of what's coming down the pike into the world's oceans, too.

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.

Some people go to Berlin to get more cutting edge; I went and started wearing lederhosen and going to visit baroque palaces.