Trump (or Asia) will make the Metropolitan Opera great again

Though Broadway musicals (including Andrew Lloyd Webber and even the late Pavarotti’s occasional Atlantic City solo) do not compare in many minds to opera, Las Vegas has been discovering the long-forgotten relationship between gambling and culture.

The city has been moving from cabaret acts to Cirque du Soleil, Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals and even display Steve Wynn’s impressionist collection: Perhaps not quite opera and the Chicago Museum of Art, but better than the tired, sleazy lounge acts and the kitschy displays of the 1970s. Though President-elect Donald Trump may be first accused of self serving legislation, the next prudent step may be legalizing casinos and other betting too, relying on the now-forgotten relationship between gambling and high culture – operas and ballets in particular.

Read full article: Asia Times, December 11, 2016