The Berkeley composer was asked about his first opera:
"Aida. It's like something out of Dickens: When I was 16, I
got a letter in very shaky handwriting, and out came a check
for $100. It was from a man who had grown up in New Hampshire
and lived at 1 Sutton Place. He had read an article in some
local newspaper about me, and he invited me to hear the Met.
So my parents put me on a Greyhound bus. I stayed at the Y.
I was met by his wife - who told me in completely unexcited
tones that he'd had a heart attack and was in the hospital.
So she said `I'll take you.' It was with Birgit Nilsson and
Richard Tucker, and I absolutely hated it. I just thought
it was the most hideous thing I'd ever heard or seen. But I
behaved well."
For the whole interview, see
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/arts/music/classical/10328/
Janos Gereben
www.sfcv.org
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