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My stepfather was quite into opera, but he'd play it when he was in a bad mood, so you'd hear this boom through the floor, Wagner, and you'd feel nervous.

When I'm alone at home, I really prefer to listen to Wagner's orchestral music rather than any vocal music. I find it illuminating not to have to pay attention to voices in the recordings.

If I felt that one of my operas did not come off I would certainly say so.

Any subject is good for opera if the composer feels it so intently he must sing it out.

When the story is good enough, people can watch something three times the length of an opera.

To tell you the truth, I never listen to opera at home.

Wagner is a composer who has beautiful moments but awful quarter hours.

The thing about Wagner is we're always wrong about him, because he always embraces opposites. There are things in his operas which viewed one way are naturalistic, and viewed another way are symbolic, but the problem is you can't represent both views on stage at once.

Opera is for a lifetime, not just a minute.

Sleep is an excellent way of listening to an opera.