Sunday, October 05, 2008

Bait and Switch


I went to the Metropolitan Opera recently for a performance of "Salome."

I took my seat. The lights went down, and James Levine stood up. But instead of conducting the opera overture, he announced to the audience:
Doggonit, I'm not gonna do this opera stuff--it's too elitist. I'm just gonna entertain Joe Sixpack directly, with what Americans, ya know, really love. Watch me juggle instead!

The audience booed and hurled rotten tomatoes and cabbages at him, forcing him to leave the building. If audiences would more often show their disdain for such dishonest behavior, perhaps we would see less of it.

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