Does Britain Need Another Distinctly English Opera House?

Is London’s Royal Opera House quietly returning to the days when it served primarily as a showcase for homegrown talent? Norman Lebrecht thinks so, and wonders what the ripple effect might be if he’s right. “The consequences of this transition are considerable. As Covent Garden becomes increasingly a British house, a nursery of native talent, what role remains for English National Opera? Singing in English is no raison d’etre when the words are so blurry that surtitles have to be used, and if the ROH is route one to international class, why would any but the also-rans make a stop at the motorway café?”