"Understanding more about the history of the of the area and their family's connection to it was more inspiring for me than the novel itself."
"When you think about it, love is just something that you have to distract you from what's going on with your death."
"They're not traditional fodder for making of opera stories. But they are love stories, actually, at the heart of each of them. Really broke and screwed-up love stories."
"It basically started with us believing that this piece needs to be heard by more people and performed by more people. Not every ensemble has the resources to perform it. John gave us the blessing for it."
"After a plague comes a renaissance. It's really the artist's job to forge a new trail for everybody."