IT seems appropriate that the first thing visionary director and animator of the absurd Terry Gilliam does when he picks up the phone is disconnect the call.

Fresh from a costume fitting ahead of his O2 reunion with his fellow Pythons Gilliam is still celebrating the debut performance of his second collaboration with English National Opera.

“I was convinced we would never be able to pull it off “ he admits the next day. “Two days before the opening we did our first dress rehearsal and I thought it was a disaster! The fear of failure which is a part of Cellini overwhelms you.”

One of Berlioz’s lesser–known operas Benvenuto Cellini is the tale of a visionary 16th century goldsmith and sculptor.

It is being broadcast live in cinemas across the country on Tuesday.

“I had wanted to make a film of his life,” says Gilliam. “His autobiography is an extraordinary and wonderful read. The best part is the casting of the Perseus statue – and here was an opera where it takes place!”

He admits extreme characters play a role in the projects he chooses – from gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson to the tall tales of Baron Munchausen.

“I like characters that are on the edge,” he says. “They make more dangerous choices and either enlighten the world with madness or expose its absurdity.

“With Cellini it’s about the business of being an artist trying to do something extraordinary, and the drama, pain and horror of not being able to do so.”

Cellini’s journey could reflect Gilliam’s own. He received acclaim for movies including Brazil and 12 Monkeys, as well as his animation work with Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

But he has also faced failure – from the box office losses of his grandiose Adventures Of Baron Munchausen in 1988, to his disastrous attempt at Don Quixote, as captured in the 2002 documentary Lost In La Mancha.

With Benvenuto Cellini he has retained his big vision.

“It’s a cast of 100 people on stage,” he says. “We have made it more complicated than was probably intended. Our statue is probably about ten times taller than the original!”

He has kept tight control over the production – even taking on the design duties after original designer Rae Smith left on maternity leave – and had his say on the filmed version.

“I’ve already stopped one of the camera positions,” he reveals. “I don’t want it to be turned into a cinematic event. We are in a theatre with a proscenium arch design, so I want the whole show to be seen from that angle out front – not strange angles looking into the wings.”

From his Python animations to the theatricality of 2009 movie The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus the proscenium arch has been a recurrent motif in Gilliam’s work.

“I love the idea of theatre or circus,” he says. “It’s not real, but it may be truthful. That intrigues me.

“I love the artifice, the magic of a puppet show or cartoon. Punch and Judy shows have always fascinated me – you become engrossed in this thing, but you know it’s a guy with his hand up a couple of potato–headed puppets.”

He is currently looking for funding for his next film project, suggested on his website to be the long awaited The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

And earlier this year he released The Zero Theorem, starring Christophe Waltz as a computer programmer searching for the meaning of life. The film saw him create a dystopian future not unlike the nightmarish bureaucracy of his 1985 classic Brazil. He sees parallels with the US administration of George W Bush.

“Ten years ago we said we were going to sue George W Bush and his advisor Dick Cheney for their illegal remake of Brazil,” laughs Gilliam. “What is Homeland Security but the Ministry Of Information? The more Edward Snowden reveals you realise we are way past Brazil.

“The Zero Theorem is about what we’re feeling right now – how can we escape from this noise? It’s asking whether you can be a person alone and discover who you are and what life is about. It’s not the most optimistic of my films.”

Now his focus is on the long–awaited Monty Python reunion – admitting his recent interview to the Evening Standard where he wished the shows would be cancelled was a joke.

“I was lying about everyone getting on because we’ve not been together,” he says. “Everybody is off doing whatever solo projects they have.

“It will be interesting to see what happens – whether we play it by the script or start mucking about...”