"It's too late for people to ask me," he said. "If they asked me now, it would be three or four years ahead."

England, Miller said, "is obsessed with he cutting edge, the new thing, and if you're as old I am, you're assumed to be dead‹and actually made to be dead in the end."

"I'm putting up with the fact that I can't do any more," he added. "Also I'm tired. I'm weary of doing the work."

Instead, Miller is spending his time creating metal sculptures. "With sculpture I can juggle around on my own," he said. "I haven't got to please anyone or keep my mouth shut."

Miller first came to prominence in 1960, as the co-author and co-star of the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe, and has directed many plays. He began directing opera in 1974, and established relationships with many of the world's leading companies, including the ENO, the Maggio Musicale in Florence, and the Met. He has also hosted several television series, including one on opera.