Janos writes:

>Somebody should let Rockwell know that the wretched "Matrix" sequel has
>all the floor-length trench coats to satisfy even the most rabid fans of
>SchlockOpera. I don't know why "vibrancy" requires phallic prosthesis and
>the like, but if that's the choice, give me that old-time "sensuous bath
>in vocal timbre."

You know, given the correspondence between composers and their librettists,
I strongly doubt that composers think about that "sensuous bath" more
often than they think of the drama.  I suspect that the choice isn't
between old-timey vocal calisthenics and Schlockopera.  For me, the
problem with the Met is that it hasn't originated a dramatically interesting
production of *any* style in a very long time.  When opera fans - that
is, fans of opera, rather than of singers and set designers - talk about
interesting productions, it's usually Bayreuth, San Francisco, Lyons,
Glyndebourne, Aldeburgh, or even Chicago Lyric or directors like (I hear
the snorts now) Sellars and Miller.

For the record, I hated the Matrix Reloaded as well, but fortunately I
don't have to choose between that and the latest Robin Williams weepie.

Steve Schwartz