Off the List

Patrick Vaz gives up after last fall's Fledermaus at SFO:

The staging, the singers, and the orchestra were all excellent, for which I was truly grateful, since I can now feel that I have seen a top-notch production of Fledermaus, that I still disliked it, and therefore I need have no guilt about wanting never to see it again.

I recognize the feeling, though not specifically in connection with Fledermaus, for which I retain a possibly indefensible fondness. But I know and treasure that sense of relief that comes when an encounter with an artist or artwork at their best enables you to strike them off the list with an easy conscience. There are a number of very highly regarded film directors, e.g., whose work I never have to try again, now that their acknowledged masterpieces have left me cold.