When author Ann Patchett heard the story of how terrorists seized a group of dignitaries at the Japanese Embassy in Peru and held them hostage, she felt there was an operatic quality to the story. She took that feeling and created "Bel Canto" the critically acclaimed novel about what happens when a world famous soprano is seized by terrorists, along with dozens of international businessmen in an un-named South American country. As the stand-off drags on, from days into months hostages and captors become almost an extended family, tied together by the soprano's singing. Ann Patchett told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr she wanted to create a utopia.