Paul O’Neill is one talkative man – it took him no less than twenty minutes to answer the first question in the following interview! And every one of his answers is literally sprinkled with cultural references and an obvious, overflowing passion for art. These kinds of excesses are exactly those you can find in his work with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a band with “musicians from all over the world”, “24 lead singers” and “no less than 328 people in the crew only”, with whom he creates rich rock operas – including a trilogy about Christmas – and addresses a very large audience. His references go from Tchaikovsky to Dickens and Hugo. And that, along with the larger-than-life shows the band offers, is precisely what makes them one of the biggest ticket sellers in the US.

But they’ve not quite met with the same tremendous success on the old continent yet. Trans-Siberian Orchestra, whose career started in 1993, landed on our shores for the first time three years ago and is only coming back this year, with a first show in Paris on January 14th. But let’s Paul O’Neill tell us all about that himself, in length and in detail, in the course of many digressions. It was also the opportunity to talk about the fate of Savatage, a highly talented band for which he’s always worked from the shadows, and whose activities have been at a stop since 2002.

Read the interview…