Sir Charles Mackerras criticises anachronistic productions

Where opera is concerned, "my big problem these days is these awful productions they do - terrible stagings that are either outrageous or bland. You hardly ever seem to get a production that really enquires into the meaning of the opera and at the same time presents it as the composer wrote it." "It is to me quite terrible the way they completely change an opera's meaning and make it so anachronistic that it couldn't have taken place in the modern milieu. They say they are making it more approachable or relevant, but often this is an insult to the intelligence of the audience." - Sir Charles Mackerras, interviewed by Michael Kennedy; Sunday Telegraph 18 Sept 2005 I am most grateful to Sir Charles Mackerras for permission to quote his remark, which he made with regard to period-opera in general and not specifically to baroque opera. (By kind permission of Michael Kennedy and The Sunday Telegraph.)

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