Some disturbing speculations from a reader in Vienna:

Just in case you are one of those opera lovers who believe that Deborah Voigt has one of the greatest voices ever, don’t read any further and press “delete”. I just heard her Salome at the Vienna Staatsoper. It was a disaster. The audience booed her ferociously, and the reviews agreed that the glory days of her voice are gone. It was even rumored that the management tried to fire her BEFORE the first performance, because the rehearsals were so bad. It baffles me that nobody in the US seems to realise or to admit that her voice changed considerably after her operation, and not for the better. It seems to me that there is some sort of Voigt Mafia out there that makes sure that no critical word ever appears on the web about her. Don’t people have ears? Yes, her voice WAS glorious, but today it’s just a shadow of what it used to be. Also her Covent Garden comeback as Ariadne last season was not exactly a vocal triumph, and the British press was VERY critical about her singing. Ok, I’m sure you’ll disagree. I just find it surprising that while it is absolutely normal to discuss any of today’s stars with all their good and bad sides, it seems a taboo especially among New York opera lovers to say anything slightly critical about DV, no matter how justified it might be.