Of the "60 Minutes" correspondents, Bob Simon was particularly known for his interest in opera and classical music. The veteran journalist, who died in a car crash on Wednesday night in Manhattan, reported stories on the Metropolitan Opera, as well as on two orchestras: one in Paraguay, in 2013, whose poor members constructed their instruments from trash, and another in Central Africa in 2012. He won Emmy Awards for both.
Last year, Simon was a guest on WQXR's Operavore show and spoke with host Marilyn Horne about his love of opera, which he said started as a child in the Bronx after he saw the Marx Brothers film "The Night at the Opera." His opera fandom grew during college, when he and his roommate drove to Mexico City to hear the tenor Giuseppe di Stefano sing.
Simon regularly attended operas at the Met, and before his Operavore interview he saw Wagner's Parsifal twice in one week. "When you leave a Wagner opera, it's with you for at least a week," he noted.
He also remembers attending operas in cities around the globe, including Aida in Luxor, Egypt. Though he says he isn't a big fan of contemporary opera, he references John Adams's Nixon in China as one of his favorite works based on historical events.
Listen to the full interview at the top of this page.