Article: The line continues to blur between opera and theater.(Time Out!)

Byline: Bill Gowen

When Mozart composed his operas "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni" in the late 18th century, they were the Broadway musicals of their day.

So when Lyric Opera of Chicago this season mounted a new production of Stephen Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd," there's really nothing to get excited about. The dividing line between grand opera and musical theater has grown less and less visible over the years, and why not?

Of course, there are the longtime opera fanatics who don't believe "Sweeney Todd" belongs alongside "La traviata," "Pagliacci," "Parsifal," "The Magic Flute" and the like.

But the infusion of other forms ...

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