You Mean They’re Singing Words?

Should operas performed in English still have surtitles projected above the stage? It sounds like a silly question, unless, of course, you’ve ever been to an opera ostensibly sung in English. Now, English National Opera, which translates all its operas into English and once had its director declare that he would “bomb the London Coliseum” if surtitles were introduced, has quietly begun using them. Not everyone is happy, but a few diehard surtitle haters have begun to admit that they could be won over.