Woe is Wilson

ENOUGH! It’s time for a devoted, longtime opera- and theatergoer to unmask the pretentious, talentless fraud that is Robert Wilson, since apparently none of your supposedly informed and educated “critics” will do so [“A Firm Hand on the Throttle,” by Mark Swed, April 30].

I suffered through the excruciating first half of his production of “Parsifal,” the entirety of his “Madame Butterfly” and the first act of the preview performance of “The Black Rider.” I suggest that Swed try seeing some of Wilson’s productions when he’s not “jet-lagged,” because then he might actually realize how ponderous, oppressive, banal and laughable Wilson’s productions really are. If I simply want to “concentrate on the music,” I will just stay home and listen to the opera on CD, not pay $75 to $150 per ticket and fight traffic to see what is supposed to be a “live performance.”

ANGELA M. SOUSA

Los Angeles