“I guess I am running the risk of becoming the Hans Christian Andersen of opera.” — Gian Carlo Menotti

I thought conceptual art was a joke.

There are three reasons why I live in Scotland. First, I like silence, and you have to be a millionaire to buy silence in Italy. Second, I like cold weather. Third, in Italy I have too many relatives and know too many people, so I never get a quiet time.

The Italians are very unmusical. If I go to a Protestant church in London or Amsterdam or listen to a black choir, I hear four-part harmony. Italians could never do that. In Italy, we all have to sing the melody because we cannot harmonise.

It's always what you did before. The year before is always so much better. Even when the critics hated what you did then, it always looks better five years later.