Thank you so very much for this article. I am a voice teacher who has students in the major houses who have had to put up with these twisted directors, plus conductors who only want to set speed records in the operas. One of my students (who is singing in many major houses and who will be on the Met roster next year) said recently, "I hate all directors!" I will soon spend my second summer teaching in Salzburg. One thing I will not do is waste as much of my money on the operas as I did last year. It's heartbreaking; much of the singing is wonderful, especially considering what the poor singers are required to do while they are singing. But many of the productions are so perverse that a neophyte would never know what the plot is about. Please keep speaking out about this. Our subscribers can make a difference, to wit: One of the Alden twins did a Rigoletto in Chicago about five years ago. It was disgusting! Before the next production of Rigoletto happened the subscriber pamphlet said, approximately, "You asked for a traditional production of Rigoletto, so we're happy to bring it to you." As Casey Stengel used to say, you could look it up. This shows that WE are not totally subject to these charlatans' whims.