The new Met production of “Un Ballo in Maschera” (one of Verdi’s second-tier operas) is like so many “new” and “modern” productions in that it features repulsive minimalist sets with some boring age-old lighting tricks. The problem with the “modern” concept is that it’s anything but. It’s very old, very tired, very dated, and astoundingly tedious. It takes away from the drama, it belittles the music, it kills enjoyment. The line that I use in “The Opera Story,” the one that bears repeating, is: Guys, if you want to be “creative” and all, write your own operas. Leave Verdi alone. Seriously.

The one thing “they” don’t seem to get, ever: the “wow” effect that such sets are expected to produce (and hardly ever do) only lasts about a minute or two, while the music continues to play and the drama continues to unfold for another three hours. Do the math. Once the spectator/listener gets past the “wow” stage, the set becomes annoying. Really annoying. And it continues to annoy the audience for the rest of the performance. Get a grip, guys. You’ve been trying to “shock” us and “wow” us with this shit for many decades. Hey, did you know? The City Opera no longer exists. It’s gone bankrupt. It means, among other things, that we’re no longer wowed, nor amused. We – the paying public. We – the folks who buy those tickets. You may argue that everybody has already seen the “old,” “standard,” “classical,” “traditional” sets, and now it’s time to do something different. You’ve been saying that … uh … for decades. It is safe to assume that at least two new generations of opera goers, the crowd that, thanks to your so-called creativity and innovation, continues steadily to dwindle, has NOT seen traditional sets. And every year – every year, ladies and gentlemen – someone new comes in, some yesterday’s teenager, to check out what this whole opera thing is about. He or she sees THESE sets, he listens to the music which conductors destroy by dragging it, he tries to read the (very inadequate) subtitles. Will he or she come again? Food for thought.