Opera is 400 years old and still going strong. “One way in which opera stays healthy is by reinventing itself every generation or so. The old stereotypes – plump matrons impersonating tender young consumptives, tenors strutting their high Cs at the footlights – are so yesterday. Audiences are more demanding of opera now. It’s no longer enough just to have great singing; people expect a total visual, dramatic and musical experience for their buck. – Chicago Tribune