“'River of Light,' to a dense but powerful score commissioned from Char...” — Robert Gottlieb Quote

'River of Light,' to a dense but powerful score commissioned from Charles Wuorinen and with ravishing lighting by Mark Stanley, has depth and resonance.

The mysteries and scandals of the Kremlin are nothing compared to the mysteries and scandals of the Bolshoi.

'Black Swan' does what Hollywood movies have always done - it spends its energies on getting some surface things right while getting everything important wrong. Darren Aronofsky, the director, applies the same techniques and the same sensibility here as he did with 'The Wrestler,' only with a prettier protagonist.

Ballet Hispanico is far from Irish, and, though it has strong dancers, its Spanishness has always left me unconvinced.

There are singers that I have enjoyed, from Nina Simone and Ray Charles onward. But the music that made music the number one thing for me as a youth was jazz.

I became very close with Charles Bronson and his wife, Kim. We did 'Sea Wolf' together along with Christopher Reeve. I've been lucky enough to work with some amazing, legendary actors. I worked with Rod Steiger twice, for instance.

I like to do really good things. But 'good' - witness Charles Dickens - doesn't mean 'not popular.'

I think of people like Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and Isaac Hayes. They all came out of the South, and they followed a certain tradition and energy. That's no knock to groups like The Temptations or The Supremes, not at all, but they were way more polished in how they did things.