THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502090013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Did you ascertain whether your ``music critic'' saw Thea Musgrave's opera ``Simon Bolivar''?
The ambassadors of Venezuela and Colombia and other diplomats have agreed that this memorable event in the history of world music was a beautifully scripted and magnificently staged opera, sung in impeccable Spanish by a group of perfectly trained singers.
The fact that you allowed your critic to categorize the decision to perform the work in Spanish as ``truly unfortunate'' revealed an ethnic/cultural bias which should have no place in a newspaper such as yours. Also, the critic's opinion that ``had (the opera) been sung in the language the audience understood, the drama would have been more involving'' indicates a degree of ignorance of the operatic genre which would justify his transfer to another department of your paper.
The consensus among the many Latin-American dignitaries present at the premiere of ``Simon Bolivar'' was that we all hope the opera can be enjoyed by audiences throughout the Americas.
GONZALO PALACIOS
Minister counselor for cultural affairs
Embassy of Venezuela
Washington, D.C., Jan. 25, 1995 by CNB