Margaret Mikulska about some of Regieoper these days:

>Should we give Don Giovanni an electric guitar instead of mandolin?

That's just about the level of quite a bit of the staging we're offered
today.  These efforts at aggiorrniamento can be downright embarrassisng for
their vulgarity and mindlessness.  And when they fail, they obtrude in the
music.  Result:  both bad drama on the stage and a useless performance from
the orchestra pit.  For updating, imaginatively tasteful costume design and
persuasive setting are needed to bring off a work--with suitably inspired
acting, of course..  Failing delivery of this, playing it straight is far
more satisfying, at least to this attender.

Denis Fodor