Opera lovers know how to deal with these situations in the theater. They go to hear the music – more specifically, they go to hear the voices – and they know how to block out or, at least, ignore elements of the production that don’t jibe with what they’re hearing. All those things that are important to the seasoned theatergoer, like acting and direction and a cogent plot, are just icing on an evening in the opera house.
Which brings us to the strange but wonderful hybrid that is “Sweeney Todd.” Despite being performed in opera houses around the world, it is not an opera.