As a young man, I wooed, unsuccessfully, with Puccini. It's important to get your operas right.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
But Opera Man, I go, 'Oh, crap! Why didn't I think of that?' Because I could sing fake opera pretty good.
Professionally, I did a couple of operas when I was in school, when I was 18.
If I felt that one of my operas did not come off I would certainly say so.
Opera is a beautiful and important diversion for me.
You went to your first Broadway play or musical at some point, right? Come to opera.
I felt frustrated by the limitations of rock and the lifestyle of touring around on a bus and playing the same songs over and over. So I went back to school to study music, and one of the things I got into was the Italian opera composer Puccini.
I drew the last image ever of Opus at midnight while Puccini was playing and I got rather stupid. Thirty years. A bit like saying goodbye to a child - which is ironic because I was never, never sentimental about him as many of his fans were.
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.
I've always loved opera; it never occurred to me that I would write a proper libretto.
For years, I wasn't in the least bit interested in opera.