Virginia Opera's 'Ariadne auf Naxos' is strong and ambitious, if not world-class

Richard Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos" is an irresistible challenge for a director. This opera-within-an-opera cues up tedious bloviating about the nature of art directly alongside lowbrow slapstick. Which side "wins" is, to a great extent, the choice of the director, who can either consecrate or ridicule the highfalutin Greek legend depending on who does what during the singing.