In Search of American Opera.

The July 1991 Opera News featured an article by Ned Rorem, "In Search of American Opera." He interviewed a number of composers, including John Kander, who "... says he 'wouldn't know how' to write an opera, despite being (unlike Sondheim) an avid opera buff. The biggest influence on his pop songs has been Lotte Lehmann's Marschallin—not the music itself so much as her emphases (which mirrors Billie Holiday with me). He feels that 'musical theater' is going toward opera."