1.   Divas are often the financial linchpins for opera productions costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

2.   We were discussing the new opera production the director of the San Francisco Opera company was looking for.

3.   A second priority for Vilar has been to support traveling opera productions.

4.   But it is clearly not enough to support multiple opera productions and symphony concerts on a regular basis.

5.   Even Wagner, another egomaniac who controlled every aspect of his opera productions, was mostly trying to provide audiences with an absorbing evening in the theater.

6.   For one thing, concert or semi-staged opera productions have been increasingly popular with orchestras all over the country.

7.   He also faced embarrassing teething problems with a new computerized stage that forced cancellation of one entire opera production and resulted in several breakdowns during early performances.

8.   In practice, other officials said, the Bureau of Culture shares responsibility for Western opera productions at the new house.

9.   It is a rare opera production in which the singers and the dancers do not appear to have come from different planets.

10.   Its size would be particularly attractive to many arts groups, especially those that present Baroque and chamber opera productions and find it hard to fill larger quarters.