Enjoying Opera Six programmes presented by MONTY HALTRECHT
5: Words and Music How important is the story in opera? And is it better to have opera in the original language or in translation? 'It's devastating for performers to sing comic opera and not get a response', says Dame Janet Baker. But, in those large-scale works painted in broad brush-strokes, says American baritone Sherrill Milnes , it's the primary emotions rather than the detailed story that count most.