How can opera keep up with the rapid eye movement of technology we are accustomed to?
KA: New opera often includes today’s technologies of computer images, film, and electronic sounds. Younger artists and audience members are influencing opera in this way. It’s an exciting time to be working in the field. GC: What astonishes you? KA: Practically everything about working on opera astonishes me. I felt like a combination of Alice-in-wonderland and Voltaire’s Candide and thus was born my persona The Steiny Road Poet. Collaborating was harder than I ever imagined. Hearing my words being sung knocked me into the stratosphere. The combination with music and sung voice really extended the meaning of what I had written. Seeing people emerge from the theater on opening night with tears streaming down their faces. GC: What brings you pleasure? KA: Learning something new every day. Writing a poem that moves a reader willing to talk to me. Dancing on a wooden floor to live music with another person who loves dancing and knows how to move. Discovering a class full of children who re
