Soothing the Savage Breast

Did that catch your attention? (wicked cackle).

What music turns you on or inspires your writing?

I like to write to opera, so Saturday afternoons, when the Met broadcast is on, are a very important time for me. Operas are about passion and over the top emotions and dying twice in a sack, so they seem a natural pairing with erotic romance. And there's something powerful and transcendent about the sheer athleticism and strength of the trained operatic voice, so Handel's Messiah is another biggie for me.

I also like the crossover recording For The Stars by mezzo-soprano Ann Sofie von Otter (who can sing in just about any way she wants) and Elvis Costello (who can sing like Elvis Costello).

In instrumental music I love Krystian Zimerman's recording of the Rachmaninov and Chopin piano concertos, passionate, melancholy, dramatic music. And there's a Duke Ellington recording I'm very fond of that my daughter seems to have spirited away.

How about you?