More opera avante garde

If you thought a Klingon opera was weird, try this on for size: an opera sung underwater.

Opera, perhaps because of it's theatrical elements, has often been more cutting-edge than orchestral music, a trend that has become more notable as of late (I'm thinking in particular of the Lincoln Center Festival's production of Zimmerman's "Die Soldaten" at the Park Avenue Armory). Chamber musicians and soloists, as well, have been thinking outside the box in terms of alternatative performance venues (The Knights, Matt Haimovitz). I've always been a proponent of creative concert formats and exploring new performance spaces (I'm at the end of the article).

As always, orchestras are latest in the uptake. I know, I know, the usual argument is that it's cost-prohibitive, acoustically unideal, etc. etc., but to all of that, I say, take a gander at the "Die Soldaten" review (link above) again. Opera is far more costly to produce, with built-in sound issues (singers/orchestra), but if the interest is there and the effort is made, the possibilities of an extraordinary, unique and memorable artistic experience abound.

So why the lag in the symphonic sphere? Is it an overreliance on tradition? Reticence to think really creatively? Fear?