Right after Jessica reminded me of her love for the sillier aspects of opera, I came across a blogger's rant against the operatic depredations of one Calixto Bieito, vulgarian buffoon. I honestly can't tell if Oliver was pissed at Bieito because of his vulgarity, his condescension, or his apparently-inept staging.

But don't you love that name? "Calixto Bieito". It's a perfect name for an art-clown. I've got this mental image of a five-hundred-pound beatnik in a black beret, speaking in an inpenetrable, Dieter-esque mis-mash of German and Italian.