It wasn’t the radio host’s fault, really

In her recent article, “Fear of a False Note” [Sept. 2], Gail Eichenthal recounts her gaffes as a live radio host, including the time she inadvertently “talked over” the opening measures of Verdi’s “Otello” during L.A. Opera’s inaugural season in 1986.

Ms. Eichenthal’s mishap is easily explained. The director’s plan was to begin the performance in a blackout, during which the orchestra would explode into the storm scene, the curtain would come up, and then the lights. No one knew exactly when the music would begin. That night, after the music did begin, the curtain became stuck about three feet from the floor and the lights remained off, for about one minute. As the disembodied feet of the chorus ran back and forth in the space under the curtain, we were all thinking: “Ohmigod, we’re LIVE!”

Lisa Sutton

Altadena

Sutton is a violinist with the L.A. Opera Orchestra