<P><BR><B>Pop stars to rock the Royal Opera House</B> <P>by Nicholas Hellen, Media Editor of The Sunday Times <P><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>THE Royal Opera House (ROH) risks provoking a chorus of disapproval by opening its famous stage to pop and rock stars for the first time. <P>Bjork, the mercurial Icelandic singer and actress, is in talks to perform in Covent Garden's main theatre this September. Other pop stars are also expected to stage Sunday night performances, a rest day for ballet and opera companies. <P>Financial pressures and persistent criticism of the opera's "elitist" atmosphere have persuaded Tony Hall, the new executive director of the ROH, to broaden its repertoire.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I have to say that this seems like a terrifically good idea from the viewpoints of finance, PR and simply use of resources that the public has invested so much in. Difficult to believe that anyone could take offence. And it's Bjork, who is admired by a number of classical musicians.<P><A HREF="http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/05/20/stinwenws01032.html?" TARGET=_blank><B>The full article</B></A><P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited May 20, 2001).]

Well, I LOVE Bjork so must say it was a bit of a thrill to open a Criticaldance thread to see a nice big picture of her. I don't think nasty stadiums or boring convention halls should be the only place to see music. The problem I have had when seeing concerts in theaters is there's no room to dance but the aisle and the fire marshall doesn't like that. If I was to go see Bjork and not have any room to dance...