"Opera is going to the dogs" 1720s style

[Soave_Fanciulla]

What advice could we add to bring this up to date?

[MAuer]

Oh dear! Given my feelings about Regietheater, I'll refrain from making snide comments about stage directors . . .

The remark about engaging attractive young (female) singers regardless of vocal quality would certainly seem to apply in some instances today. As for coughing fits, the culprits are more likely to be found in the audience than onstage!

[Soave_Fanciulla]

All Stage directors: Make sure that you ask your singers to do physically difficult actions in the middle of their tricky arias. You know, sing upside down (Trebs in Puritani) , crawl through tubes (Paul Groves in Damnation de Faust), totter around on a steeply raked stage (Machine Rheingold).

[MAuer]

Costume designers: Make sure that your "creations" are as unflattering as possible to the singers who must wear them. This will provide some reviewers and bloggers an opportunity to entertain their readers with disparaging remarks about a singer's appearance (especially if the singer is a woman and doesn't have a fashion model's figure).