At Hbo, They Seem To

Directing An Opera Is Similar To Directing A Play. The Singing Must Not Get In The Way Of The Drama.

When We Were Trying To Get The Money Together For The Film, One Reason That Was Consistently Given For Not Investing In It Was That Everyone Kept Saying No One Could Direct It Well Enough To Entertain An Audience For 100 Minutes Essentially Watching Three People Chatting In The Kitchen.

I Thought, This Is Fabulous. It Sent Shivers Up My Spine. I Thought, What Kinds Of People Are These That Would Produce This Kind Of Music In A Camp? All The Prison Camp Stories I've Seen, And Heard Of, Were About The Heroism Of Men. As I Researched This And Heard The Music, I Realized That Women Were Heroic Too, On Just As Grand A Scale. And Their Treatment Was Just As Appalling.

It Is Essential To Do Everything Possible To Attract Young People To Opera So They Can See That It Is Not Some Antiquated Art Form But A Repository Of The Most Glorious Music And Drama That Man Has Created.

When The Music And The Characters Are Flawlessly Synchronized, The Opera Develops An Emotional Force That Movies And Plays Cannot Match.