Kevin Case of the Grant Park Symphony says that the following question “begs” to be asked: Which one has contributed more to the city: the Lyric Opera or Albert Belle? (Voice, Sept. 17).
Mr. Case, are you sure you wanted to ask that question? You may not like the answer. Unlike a baseball “artist” who has statistics such as batting average and runs batted in, we don’t have a convenient method to measure the quality of a traditional performance art like opera. The only way we can measure these two art forms, opera and baseball, regarding their relative value is to measure how the body politic votes with its entertainment dollars.
Clearly, Albert Belle and baseball have provided far more entertainment value to the city of Chicago than opera, and therefore baseball could be regarded as the higher art form. To think differently is rather elitist and ignores reality.
