From 'Popeye' Doyle to Puccini: William Friedkin

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William Friedkin directs a recent rehearsal of the Washington National Opera's production of Puccini's one-act comedy, Gianni Schicchi.

Karin Cooper

William Friedkin directs a recent rehearsal of the Washington National Opera's production of Puccini's one-act comedy, Gianni Schicchi.

'The French Connection'

William Friedkin edited the film's famous chase sequence to Santana's "Black Magic Woman." In the end, the song wasn't used in the film, and sound effects were added.

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Acclaimed film director William Friedkin is perhaps best known for his 1971 film, The French Connection. He won an Oscar for directing the gritty tale of New York narcotics cop, Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle.

Friedkin went on to direct The Exorcist, and his latest film is Bug, starring Ashley Judd and Harry Connick, Jr.

But a few years ago, he took up another art form: opera.

Although Friedkin, 71, had listened to plenty of opera, he says he had never been to one — until his friend, the conductor Zubin Mehta, suggested that he try directing one.

Currently, he's directing a double bill at the Washington National Opera: Puccini's one-act comedy, Gianni Schicchi and Bartok's one-act Bluebeard's Castle.

Friedkin describes Puccini's "outrageously hilarious" Gianni Schicchi, and explains what Puccini and the Marx Brothers have in common and the difference between stars of opera and film.

He also talks about why directing is a "young man's game" and recalls the filming of The French Connection's legendary car-chase scene on the streets of Coney Island — and why he would never do it again.