Covent Garden’s rude brush-off of Deborah Voigt for being too big is a sign of a changing opera world, writes Joshua Kosman. “The resultant possibilities for mocking and excoriating this once- respected opera company are rife and fairly obvious (insert “the opera ain’t over” joke of your choosing here). But this mini-scandal reveals some important shifts in the prevailing attitudes toward opera and the performing arts in general. Have we really reached the point where only the slim or the beautiful (the two terms are far from synonymous) need apply? Does artistic prowess now count for less than comeliness? Must every other consideration be subsumed to the visual?”