Withering Glance: Let the fat lady sing without us

Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more.

CP: As gay men, we are supposed to love opera. Yet we do not.

RN: The enduring image of the Opera Queen -- he of the velvet smoking jacket and the Maria Callas portrait hanging over the fireplace -- is a hard one to erase, isn't it?

CP: In my case, it's one more case of stereotype-busting, like not liking home decorating. Or Madonna.

RN: You have a problem with the great goddess Madge?

CP: Meh. Isn't opera just an earlier form of the business we call show? And we all know where you stand on modern-day operas like "Gypsy."

RN: Please. Because it's not through-composed, it's not an opera. What it is, though, is an American masterpiece.

RN: Don't mess with my Sondheim and my Styne. Before we go on dissing and stereotyping an entire art form, let me say that some operas can really turn my crank, but others leave me cold. Sort of like the ballet, I guess, although I'd almost always prefer to see a C-minus "Giselle" than an A-plus "Faust." But I'm more of a movement guy.

CP: When I have dragged myself to Minnesota Opera at the Ordway, I have experienced a few pretty great evenings of music. "The Pearl Fishers" was gorgeous. And I liked a "Turandot" years ago. But their world premiere of "The Grapes of Wrath" in 2007? That was a slog. Why are these overexcited Dust Bowl refugees forever bursting into song?

RN: Opera, like "Glee," rarely makes sense. In my teens and 20s, I was more into opera, but then again, that's when the MinnOp was devoted to new works. I saw some crazy stuff, and while it wasn't always good, it was never boring. P.D.Q. Bach's "The Abduction of Figaro" remains one of the funniest shows I've ever seen on a Twin Cities stage.

CP: We are definitely missing out. Since I attend the opera infrequently, I have very few occasions to bring out my cape. Ditto my lorgnette.

RN: Remember when the Metropolitan Opera used to camp out at Northrop Auditorium? It was a spectacle, even for the Midwest. Now the company broadcasts to cineplexes. I like that. Opera should be more accessible, although it seems wrong to be rattling through a big old box of popcorn while soaking up the lush, passionate sounds of "Tristan und Isolde."

RN: You said it, not me.