These are lessons that need to be learned at La Scala where, as I write, a premiere has been postponed because the anarchic stage crew could not safely erect a set; in Barcelona, where economic crisis almost shut the Liceo; in Paris, where style reigns as substance wanes; indeed, everywhere that opera is performed. Running an opera house is not about singing and dancing. It's about getting all your ducks in a row and letting them bob in harmony. Opera needs dispassionate, professional management. Now set that to music.