Va. Opera's 'Sweeney Todd' rides on operatic voices, despite miking

Among opera companies, putting on musicals is all the rage. There are, the companies assure us, plenty of artistic reasons to do it: Musicals are the contemporary equivalent of opera, or musicals are a historical successor to opera that opera houses can present in a historically accurate (which is to say, unamplified) manner. The bottom line, though, is that presenting musicals is a way to sell tickets and reach a new audience.