Plenty, according to Willie Anthony Waters, the General and Artistic Director of the Bushnell Theater-based Connecticut Opera Company. For one thing, the Connecticut Opera has been around for 59 years, making it the sixth oldest opera company in the nation. That might seem hard to explain, or even believe, considering how many people truly loathe the opera. Such programs familiarize youngsters with opera music and stories, and expose them to the thrill of a live performance. There used to be a certain built-in trepidation with which people approached opera, because of their unfamiliarity with the story, or with the language in which the performance was sung.
Supertitles take that away.
Some conservative operagoers object to this idea, because of their belief that the music , and the emotions it generates, are really what matters in an opera, and not the words. Also, some complain that the constantly changing screen titles are a distraction. But the maestro defends their usage. They enable the audience to know what's going on from second to second, which enhances their enjoyment of the overall experience. Just as the accessibility of opera has added to its audience, so has it increased the size of its talent pool.