I tried to use the voice so it was not strictly recitative or singing or spoken word. I tried a great deal of speaking on pitch and in rhythm.

I was choosing a subject matter that tries to depict the period more accurately, rather than the history-book version we have come to believe.

I had all the normal interests-I played basketball and I headed the school paper. But I also developed very early a great love for music and literature and the theater.

I don't know how any of my operas will play in 20 years. It will have a lot to do with the fashions of the time and what people respond to.

America tends to worship the modest talent because it doesn't put us in an uncomfortable position vis-a-vis the artist.

When I've seen my operas in Europe, they have always struck me as more American than when I hear them here. I can't tell you what that phenomenon is.