Imagining The “Donald Trump” Opera
No composer has been announced, and I doubt it will be a triumph on the order of John Adams’s “Nixon in China. But this writer is imagining a “Trump in Europe” opera anyway. To wit: ‘Donald Trump is the undisputed hero of this comic opera in three acts. “Comic†does not here mean superficial or laugh-out-loud hilarious: as Rossini so superbly demonstrated in “The Barber of Seville,” comic opera combines a sophisticated analysis of human interactions with a light touch. Foreign policy offers plenty of opportunities to study human nature; at summits, each participant brings not only his or her personality but a country’s sensitivities, strengths and weaknesses to bear. Like Bartolo—the central character in “The Barber of Sevilleâ€, a buffoon-like doctor of medicine with ambitions that supersede his abilities—Mr Trump is sung by a bass.’
