Mexico City Re Ignited?

Relations between COMMANDOpera and the current Government of Mexico could best be described as frosty. Global readers who have followed for any number of years, will recall the extraordinary efforts this venue went to in order to restore the greatly storied theatre, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, to its position in the hierarchy. Regardless of the Internet and the global access this forum provides to writers, the unfortunate reality is that most only speak on events within their region. COMMANDOpera simply does not feel this perspective having spent years crisscrossing the planet in order to take in the art form of Opera produced on numerous stages. It was this precise personal history which made the mission of COMMANDOpera so very natural: bring global Opera to the Internet for those who cannot attend such houses. El Palacio de Bellas Artes loomed large given the critical and historic performances of the early 1950′s. The lengths (and cost) to reach into the theatre leaving no stone unturned were ongoing, yet all of these efforts proved futile. Finally, after the particularly incendiary article which accompanied the official removal of the image of Mexico City theatre from the COMMANDOpera header, matters went decisively south. For those who were close to the situation at the time, it is fair to say the Government of Mexico was displeased with the article in question (the inclusion of a regional link discussing a certain violent incident graphically was at the core), and it was further made clear through diplomatic channels, COMMANDOpera was persona non grata within the borders of the Mexican state.

Although El Palacio de Bellas Artes is now but a regional theatre, COMMANDOpera is pleased to see the website is at least now comprehensible and navigable for regional readers. A first step in the right direction, which gives us a glimmer of hope for the future of this once great theatre. Perhaps all of the effort spent by COMMANDOpera on Mexico City managed something positive at the end of the day.