one of the 'voices of dissent' defended by M r. David
Cairns in your issue of May 13, 1 cannot refrain from heartily echoing his criticism of the Primitive negligence' surrounding the present re- vival of The Trojans at the Royal Opera House. We were dismissed in other sections of the press as 'resentful hooligans,' and our spontaneous out- burst of protest was clearly mistaken for an attack 0.n the conductor. But if our critics had listened a little more carefully they would have heard a large number of 'shames' among the 'boos,' for there was more in our hearts than mere hooliganism. Royal We simply could not believe that the magic of the "Yal Hunt and Storm, at last in its rightful place, t181111°41d be squandered for lack of explanation in programme. The replacement of the mime of ,73g by the bronze horse previously seen at Troy was .7.,haMing piece of economy, which can only have added to the bewilderment of those seeing the opera for the first time.
This sweeping assumption—that everyone in the audience knows his Royal Hunt so well that he will listen with his eyes shut—seems to typify the sort of thoughtlessness deplored by Mr. Cairns. There must always be a 'first time' for everyone, and it is the duty, surely, of any opera house to help the beginner find his way rather than to flatter their regular clientele by not telling them what they know (or pretend to know) already. The Royal Hunt is a marvel of pictorial music, and neither carelessness nor musical snobbery should deprive newcomers of guidance to its magic.—Yours faithfully,
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