Like I said, opera is not boring. Far from it in fact.
Believe it or not, now is an exciting time in the world of opera:
On a national level, the Metropolitan Opera has begun to shake up the world of opera under the leadership of Peter Gelb. Gelb is doing his best to attract theatre and film directors to his Company and is trying to create a place of theatrical experimentation. And so far he seems to be doing a fine job of it.
Out here on the West Coast things are just as exciting, however.
Ahead of the changes going on in New York, San Diego Opera has already hired fashion designer Zandra Rhodes to design her first opera, “The Magic Flute” (in 2001 and 2006). Then she designed “The Pearl Fishers” (2004) which played to critical acclaim locally as well as in New York and San Francisco and comes back to us next year. Now Zandra is finishing up her first “Aida” for Houston Grand Opera, a production that will then go to London and onto other cities around the world. She’s an international opera designer now, but San Diego Opera had her first.