I was interested in opera and it seemed to me that the only possible theatre for contemporary opera would be television. So I started working towards a kind of television kind of opera.

Ashley was the director. Ashley says in the liner notes to Atalanta that the three works represent "architecture agriculture and genealogy" respectively. He then added "subtle and eerie modulations" to the recording modifying his voice to the point that much of what he read could not be understood.

His notable students include Maggi Payne. Robert Ashley (born March 28 1930) is a contemporary American composer best known for his operas and other theatrical works many of which incorporate electronics and extended techniques. In 1969 he became director of the San Francisco Tape Music Center.