tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post5457034773621274289..comments2024-03-29T04:15:17.481-05:00Comments on <a href="http://ionarts.blogspot.com/">Ionarts</a>: Glimmerglass: Let's Put on a Show!Charles T. Downeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-14556296867374797442012-07-29T17:32:55.374-05:002012-07-29T17:32:55.374-05:00Ah -- thanks for the clarification. I understand t...Ah -- thanks for the clarification. I understand that the commenting interface can be mystifying.<br /><br />Ticket sales generally cover under half of an opera company's expenses, including at Glimmerglass. They have to depend on donations and grants no matter what coverage they get in the press. Some new listeners might think they will give "opera" a try and see "The Music Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-32340461897114771152012-07-29T15:39:25.811-05:002012-07-29T15:39:25.811-05:00I posted my comment anonymously not because I was ...I posted my comment anonymously not because I was trying to hide my identity but because I couldn't understand the several options given for signing up to an ID. I am Dennis Gallagher of Cheverly MD, a 65-year old Government lawyer with a late developing interest in opera and serious music and no pretensions to expertise in either. I am not, by the way, the second anonymous poster who Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-71503839890096335582012-07-29T10:54:54.847-05:002012-07-29T10:54:54.847-05:00For every one opera purist who boycotts the season...<i>For every one opera purist who boycotts the season's musical theater offering, there are probably ten people buying tickets to it who have never been to a live production before.</i><br /><br />Your formula seems to imply an irreversible turnover of audience, as more musicals are offered and fewer operas. Anyway, Zambello should not be surprised if she starts to lose out in fund raising. Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-76640984837855294702012-07-29T10:04:19.456-05:002012-07-29T10:04:19.456-05:00While I see your point, Glimmerglass is hardly the...While I see your point, Glimmerglass is hardly the only opera company turning to classic musical theater to stay afloat. (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Central City Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago all spring to mind.) For every one opera purist who boycotts the season's musical theater offering, there are probably ten people buying tickets to it who have never been to a live production beforeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-33351224513999255772012-07-28T17:15:57.212-05:002012-07-28T17:15:57.212-05:00You have already answered your own question -- the...You have already answered your own question -- the music is better. I would not agree that "Aida" -- not one of my favorite operas, true -- is dumber and more vulgar than "The Music Man" either. To claim so, anonymously, reveals your own bias. Anyway, my point is not that musicals are inferior, only that many companies in many places mount them -- in the summertime, too. The Charles T. Downeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14978821617871429169noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5607352.post-36010974017288326032012-07-28T15:38:48.135-05:002012-07-28T15:38:48.135-05:00If you're going to criticize the programming (...If you're going to criticize the programming ("flirtation with musicals" and "bad decision"), there ought to be more to it than just looking down your cultured nose at the lower art forms. Though the music is certainly better, Aida is dumber and more vulgar than The Music Man and it is, after all, summertime. Is this really bad for Glimmerglass qua Glimmerglass and if soAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com