My comments represented a rather condensed version...

To me, opera suffers from a multiple-personality disorder. It can't decide whether it is a musical presentation or a play, and often the two faces interfere with each other. Putting it in SF/F terms, I suffer a "suspension of disbelief" attack. Comedies, such as _The Marriage of Figaro_, come off better in this regard.

Wagner, I'm afraid, comes off _better_ as concert excerpts than in context.

All IMHO.