A Night at the Opera

The Opera Company of Philadelphia has chosen to stage the Gounod version of "Romeo and Juliet" not as a family vendetta, but as a feud between rival fashion houses. Under director Manfred Schweigkofler, the masked ball has been replaced by a runway scene, and the blood feuds include paint-spraying each other's posters ("Take that, you bitch!"). 

We look forward to further modernizations within the repertoire. For example, in "La Boheme" we might find Rodolfo as a video game programmer and Mimi as a temp; in "Madama Butterfly," Pinkerton and Cio-Cio San could meet through an online dating service; Carmen might be a pole dancer, running with a biker gang, with Don Jose as a narc. 

The possibilities are endless, and we look forward to the observations of Mr. I. Garner of Ripe, UK.

Meanwhile, in other entertainment news,  MLA Harry Bloy took the award for Best Supporting Actor at the BC Liberals leadership extravaganza. Kevin Falcon, George Abbott and Mike de Jong finished out of the running.