THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 22, 1995 TAG: 9502220012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
I was appalled by the viciousness of the letters to the editor criticizing Mark Mobley's review of the Virginia Opera's ``Simon Bolivar'' (Feb. 10). I saw ``Simon Bolivar'' and was disappointed by the production, agreeing with most of what Mr. Mobley wrote.
The letter from the minister counselor for cultural affairs of the Embassy of Venezuela was especially ludicrous when he stated the opera was sung ``in impeccable Spanish.'' I am an American citizen who moved to Latin America when I was 3 years old. Except for brief periods of education in the United States, I spent most of my life there before moving to Norfolk to pursue a degree in higher education at Old Dominion University.
I am bilingual in Spanish and English. The Spanish sung by the chorus, far from being ``impeccable,'' was poor at best. Even the most simple words were frequently mispronounced.
Your readers are certainly entitled to criticize Mr. Mobley's review, but all of us who saw the opera did not disagree with him, and his critics could at least be accurate and polite when they criticize.
LISA SUE BELL
Virginia Beach, Feb. 13, 1995 by CNB