This guy's attitude has already turned me off. And why would I pay good money to see an opera with second-rate singers that have rehearsed for a week?

Although I didn't have room for the whole interview, I should point out that the only one-week rehearsal he mentioned was specifically for the chorus in 'Barber.' If you recall how little chorus there is in that opera, he may have a point.TS

Hi, good post. I have been thinking about this issue,so thanks for posting. I'll definitely be subscribing to your site.

An interesting possibility. But, Tim, by my count this is the second time you've written about prospects for the post-BOC era without mentioning Opera Vivente. OV isn't opulent (unless you count the singing) and its scale isn't "grand," but it's thoroughly professional, always entertaining, and occasionally breathtaking. This year's "Giovanni" and an earlier "Rigoletto" were just masterful, and I've enjoyed several other productions. OV's been around for 10 years, yet you've been writing as though the start-ups in various stages of discussion and promotion are Baltimore's only operatic hope.

In a perfect world a thousand opera flowers could bloom here, and I hope for selfish reasons that all the planning and even the dreaming going on now brings music to the stage before too long. But it's still too soon for "wait 'til next year" -- this operatic year ain't over. OV's "Albert Herring" has 2 more performances, this Thursday and Saturday (featuring 20th century music's second most famous Sid & Nancy). Please try not to forget OV again!

It's not a question of forgetting. It's a question of the Lyric, the main focal point of the story, and grand opera therein. Unless OV changes direction in some startling fashion, it will remain a chamber opera company performing in a much smaller venue. There's already too much blurring going on when it comes to the opera issue in this town.TS