Leaving the War Memorial Opera House earlier this month, after the West Coast premiere of Poul Ruder's "The Handmaid's Tale," I was left with a distinct thought: Is there where modern opera is going?
Elizabethan trader John Hawkins takes the stage with a scowl and windmilling assertion. Two centuries later, John Newton journeys from drunken bullyboy pressganged into service to frockcoated ...