Janos Gereben points us to a website interview quoting Attorney General
nominee John Ashcroft:

>  "Now the opera gets a subsidy from the National Endowment for the Arts,
>  but, by and large, Willie Nelson and Garth Brooks don't. Those of us who
>  drive our pickups to those concerts don't get a subsidy, but the people
>  who drive their Mercedes to the opera get a subsidy."

I noticed that the gushing article/interview in question was written by one
Bob Jones IV--might he be related to the other Bob Joneses, whose namesake
university gave Ashcroft an award? The very same BJU which until recently
banned interracial relationships on campus?

But no matter.  It has always been my contention that the outrages of
exhibiting naked people and irreligious art would be totally forgotten by
the Rabid Right if they could only determine what happens in so many of our
favorite opera plots.  Jesse Helms would have another stroke if he only
understood half the stuff that goes on in the Ring....

And Bob Jones would indeed have a hard time with all the interracial casts
that have performed "Aida" over the years, let alone the story line of
"Otello"....

Heck, even the "Magic Flute" should be grounds for burning down the opera
houses--Monostatos the Moor lusting after pure-white Pamina, all that
hokus-pokus, magic bells and heathen worship of Isis and Osiris--it's
almost as demonic as "Harry Potter".  Not to mention "Hansel & Gretel",
with all that Wiccan stuff and allusions to child-ingestion.

"Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutti"? Don't go there!  (well, at least the
Don got dragged to hell....)

Finally, there's that problematic guy, Beethoven and his "Fidelio"; which
includes a cross-dressing woman and much ado about individual liberty--now
where's the deference to (proper male) authority and the Rule of Law in
that?

Yup, that's opera.  Hardly a Family Values sort of entertainment.  But
then, perhaps it would fare better with the Helms/Ashcroft crowd if someone
wrote an opera about a truck-drivin' cowboy and his dog, who kills his
woman because of her cheatin' heart....

Bill H.

[Only if you could keep the whole thing to three minutes or less....  -Dave]