Steve Willis is up on these things and he made the point that audiences are now being so bilked by outrageous ticket prices that they must justify to themselves what they’ve paid by imagining that everything they plunk for is sensational.
What happens to discernment?
When I started going to the opera in 1972, we were still in the superstar era: Sutherland, Price, Pavarotti, et. al., et.al. And even with those powerhouses, not every performance received a standing ovation.
There’s a current buzz about the extortionate ticket prices and “Cats” closing early and I’ll l soon link to some articles.