Sir: What a brave and tragic tale Gerald Kaufman has
to tell. Scarred for life by the elitism of the Royal Opera House and the social insecurities it inflicted on him, he is driven to seek retribution through the chairmanship of a Select Committee and to use the pages of the media in the manner of a psychiatrist's couch. How principled of him to disregard the remarkable artistic standards and accomplishments attained in recent years and to focus on trivial aspects: air-kissing, the ingested chicken and smoked salmon, the bizarre ritual of seat- changing. These must be stamped out. Not for him a convivial welcome to the first- timers, the interested but uninitiated, those who would dare fan themselves and cer- tainly not the rich and privileged. There is a case for prohibition here. Then, and only then, will he be able to step across the mat in the sure knowledge that he will have suc- ceeded in replacing the kind of snobbery that has so spurned him in the past with his own particular brand.
Peter Pleydell-Bouverie
Newcourt Farmhouse, Downton, Salisbury, Wiltshire
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