What do you dream about? Usually quotidian subjects and characters in odd and strange situations.

How do you use your dreams in your art? I often put the strange juxtapositions from my dreams directly into stories. It makes me feel creative.

What type of SF does Mr. Soul read? He has just finished the Mars books (Blue Mars, Red Mars, Green Mars)

I thought digital recordings were supposed to be better than analog records--are they? If not, what's the difference? I think digital recordings are more clean and clear. But for people who have a certain type of listening ear the vinyl recordings give them more depth, warmth and resonance. My husband was a conductor as a student and he played the clarinet (which is a pretty resonant instrument) so I think he prefers recordings that give him the vibrations as well as the sounds.

What do you like about the opera? I like the imagery and the connection to many senses. I like the over-blown-ness of opera, the bigger-than-life emotions, storylines and music. I love the fact that people take the enormous amounts of time to perfect the way they sing a particular word, I love that someone can learn how to sing in a foreign language, dance, move and project all that UNENHANCED over the space of a large theater. I love that people are so dedicated and creative. I love the imaginative ways that Directors come up with to envision the opera settings.

What is going to the opera like (other than the music)? It's like a chance to spend an evening in the presence of massive amounts of creativity and positive energy and to feel, for a moment, like I'm part of that too.

Ever been to operas at the old opera houses in Europe? What was that like? Not some of the more famous ones - like La Scalla, I've not been there. But I've been to operas in Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Zurich, Venice, Prague and Bayreuth. Most of them were "over-rated" or at least that's what I thought at the time. (I'm, evidently, very judgmental.) As I've grown up I find them charming and I really enjoy the flavor of each one - which is different from any other. Each house has it's own traditions and ethos. Now, I enjoy trying to blend into whatever that is, rather than judging it.

What's your third favorite opera? Turandot, by Puccini.

What's the diference between French, Italian, German, etc. operas? I'm no expert but I think of (simply) as French Operas are complicated and demand your attention, Italian Operas are warm, deep, sensuous and want you to immerse yourself in them, German operas take over your life.

Can you really enjoy opera if you can't understand the language, or does that make it more enjoyable? Absolutely you can enjoy opera if you can't understand the language! Between the acting and the music I think you can follow along. Again, they are big, overblown stories so you know it is basically going to follow a well-known storyline. And, except for French operas, the details are something you can come to later on - on your fifth or sixth time through.

What's the most unusual language an opera has been written in? Unusual to me - probably Czech - Janacek and Dvorak both wrote beautiful operas. But it's probably not unusual to the Czech people.

What's a good subject for an opera that hasn't yet been used? I'd have to think about that, and also do some research. There are probably some obscure operas that have been done on subjects I might mention, but I just don't know them. Again, I'm no expert. But I think operas based on some of the Greek tragedies COULD be good -- The Bacchae, Medea, Ajax, The Trojan Women all by Euripides. I think some novels might make good operas too ... The Road by Cormac McCarthy ... The Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.