Why is one of the world's top opera directors going into musicals? Francesca Zambello reveals all to Emma John

[The Guardian, 21 February 2006]

Francesca Zambello is worked up about the state of theatre. Or rather, the state of theatres. "So many look terrible inside, they look depressing," she says, sitting in a West End flat minutes from the threadbare venues she's berating. "If people don't go to the theatre a lot, it has to be an experience that means something, and that means also the building. It's boring, but it's important: making people realise what special places they are."