Hate with Horns

From Operaland comes some unsung high drama. Wolfgang Wagner is standing up for his daughter Katherina as she faces waves of criticism for her recent direction of grandfather Richard's "Die Meistersinger."

Few critics weighed in favorably and most were hateful, denouncing her production with topless dancers accompanied by her (presumably increasingly de-)composing grandfather shaking it in his underpants. The plot of the opera includes the offer of a daughter's hand in marriage for the winning of a singing contest; in this real life production, father Wolfgang, 87, is insistent that he will only step down from directing the famed Bayreuth festival (the German summer celebration of the controversial composer's work, replete with strong father characters) if his daughter gets the job.

** A father's work is never done until the fat lady sings. **