Christopher Webber has an interesting idea about why so many have trouble
with opera As She Is Staged.

>(1) It may have been what Ed thought of as a bad production, but I don't
>think so - bad productions don't bore one, quite the reverse.  They
>infuriate, goad and increase the blood pressure.  We have had all too
>many posts on this newsgroup which demonstrate that!

There may be hope for me after all.  I'm one of those people who dislike
most stage productions of operas I've seen.  On the other hand, I find
that "just listening" for my favorite operas doesn't completely satisfy
me.

>(3) The problem may lie, as Sullivan for one always knew it would, in
>the siren call of the gramophone.  The stage is an aid to concentration
>more often than not, so what has gone wrong?  I suspect that the
>availability of these Good Things on plush-sounding CDs, in the calm and
>comfort of our own homes, has spoilt us for the theatrical experience.

I love going to live theater (and I don't often get the chance).  A real
Broadway musical by a real Broadway company (or even actually on Broadway
itself) is, if the music's good, a joy I rarely reach.  Why not opera?
Why does the Met bore me?  Why did Bergman's film production of The Magic
Flute or the televised Sellars versions of Le Nozze di Figaro and Don
Giovanni thrill me?

I think to a great extent films have ruined staged opera for me.  Opera
for me is primarily drama, not music.  I want to see it *acted*.  Wagner's
Ring may be an exception (although I fantasize about a great cartoon
version or a super-Hollywood fantasy version, like Lord of the Rings),
in that the music is so vivid and conjures up so many extravagant images
that it may very well be "theater of the mind." Nevertheless, films have
not only changed the style of acting, they've raised the demand for GOOD
actors.  Most opera singers don't seem to qualify.  I may not like Anna
Silja's voice, but that woman can act.  On the other hand, while I may
listen enthralled to Placido Domingo, he has about as much acting skill
as a brick.

I don't suggest that opera singers adapt a "film" acting style.  I doubt
it's possible.  But are there really so few examples of decent acting
on an operatic stage, that singers must flounder as helplessly as they
do?

Steve Schwartz