Transforming A Horror Into A Boon

A discussion concerning opera house supertitles and surtitles took place on an online opera forum in which I sometimes participate. There were, of course, the usual yeas and nays, with all the usual reasons given pro and con. My snarky contribution to the discussion:

For those who consider opera supertitles and surtitles yet another philistine development of the MTV age (and I number myself among them), it's as nothing, a mere trifle, when compared with this pop-culture, prole-pandering horror.

And then, in an epiphanic flash, it struck me. While the Concert Companion in the concert hall is a genuine horror, there really is an appropriate and proper place for the device: in the home, keyed to a specially prepared classical music or opera CD or DVD coded in manufacture to deliver the proper signals to the Concert Companion.

How great is that for classical music and opera newbies?

Pretty damn great, if you ask me.