I don't doubt that billy's comment applies to all the theatrical performances that he's seen, but he doesn't claim that any of those performances were by the COC or the National Ballet at the new opera house.
I agree with Benc7 about the people who bolt for it as soon as the performance is over - why bother sitting through something if you're so desperate to leave?
I had a similar experience to TonyV at the Thursday performances last year: Elektra and Ledi Macbet were more enthusiastically received, and the Ring even more so ( though some of those vile Europeans booed at the end of Die Walkure ), than some of the more traditional operas and stagings that worked less well. But the COC season productions appeal to different sectors of the audience, too, which is why we get tried-and-true classics like The Marriage of Figaro as well as the more obscure From The House of the Dead.
The new house has attracted new audiences, and full houses, so inevitably there will be opera newbies who applaud everything that moves - but I don't see enthusiasm as a vice.
Elektra won two Dora's, and I think the local audience for opera is pretty knowledgeable and exacting - we've had an opera company here for decades - and most locally initiated productions ( as opposed to "road shows" ) are very good. The Ring was magnificent and garnered critical praise internationally for the design, direction, interpretation and singing, and I believe that we're more than willing to embrace new productions and interpretations of classics - we're not as "faux" in our tastes as others, if you like - in this city.
