More recent ones are likely to be far more sophisticated and the best of them offer remarkable experiences.
Translated texts are sometimes rather crude.
Conventional gestures in close up do not always convey the intended emotion. It is surprisingly hard to concentrate on the music and its performance per se - the visuals always seem to take the centre stage of attention, more so than may be so in the opera house. This limited survey suggests that small may be better than large, but with notable exceptions. It was impossible to empathise with Pavarotti awaiting suffocation or starvation to death, but in the theatre the turbulent conflicting emotions of that last scene can work and engage emotions. The sets for each act earn immediate applause at curtain-up, and in the 'three riddles' scene there are spectacular acrobatics before the serious action.