Letters: The Colorado opera is worth the ticket price increase

The Colorado Opera is worth the ticket increase

Re: “Looking for fresh opera offerings,” Feb. 23 letter to the editor

The letter writer states that Opera Colorado is programming “the same old stuff over and over” and he, therefore, has not “been in years.” He prefers watching a DVD “that blows everything else out of the water.” My wife and I are longtime subscribers and donors; I have a rather different view.

As I look at the performance history page on their website, I observe that Opera Colorado produced world premieres of “The Scarlet Letter” in 2016 and “Steal a Pencil For Me” in 2018. Many of the productions since 2016 were of operas written in the 2010s.

The current production of “La Bohème” is the sixth offering since Opera Colorado’s inception in 1983. Operas that have had five productions in 40+ years are “Carmen,” “Don Giovanni,” “La Traviata,” and “Tosca.” These, along with “Bohème” are reliable ticket sellers, enough so to fill the house for an extra, non-subscription performance.

Yes, the ticket prices have increased, as they have for all opera companies, even those in Europe that are very heavily government-subsidized.

It seems both fortunate and unfortunate that the cost of a good opera DVD is less than the least expensive seat at the opera. I’m less clear about the price relationship between the most expensive seat and a pair of high-brow pajamas.

We are grateful to the many donors and subscribers in Colorado who make high-quality, live performances possible.

Fred Ris, Denver

I read a complaint about Colorado Opera presenting La Boheme. I attended the show on Feb. 28 and thought the production was great. The company has scaled back, presenting two operas in a season from the previous three, probably as a cost-cutting move. With only two operas, they are taking a risk, presenting one of those as a somewhat experimental production. I hope increases in attendance and contributions will help them resume three shows a year, and then they will have more flexibility in expanding their repertoire.

Thomas Brady, Wheat Ridge

Response to the “negative” reporting

Re: “Media’s focus under Trump administration,” Feb. 27 letter to the editor

The reader states that, “Trump is president now and everything negative must be magnified. Media bias is not a myth.” Many pages of The Denver Post indeed contain articles about the many initiatives enacted by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Every day, The Post and other news outlets report what they are saying and doing.

The facts that are reported are seen by myself, thousands of federal employees, millions of Americans, and billions around the world as being harmful in one way or another to them and democracy. The reader complained that the news reported about the president is negative. Well, I believe the news being created by the president is undeniably negative. Is the media biased? Hardly. It is Donald Trump and the Trump Show that is driving the news.

I appreciate the facts that The Post is reporting. The authoritarians of the 1930s, and in Russia today, successfully eliminated any negative news about them. We should not, and cannot, let that happen here and now. I don’t like to hear about how people are being negatively impacted by Trump. But we must hear it. I thank The Denver Post for reporting the facts we all need to hear.

Charles Gueck, Denver

Stand up for girls and women in sports

Both of our Colorado Senators have voted against the senate bill that would have protected female athletes from having to compete with biological males. They have decided that woke nonsense is more important than the opportunities, modesty, and safety of Colorado women. Very disappointing.

Tom Bassett, Arvada

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