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Chicago Tribune chief theater critic Chris Jones tells Naomi Lewin that nothing lights up his e-mail inbox like an opera company staging a Broadway musical using full amplification. "It's full of disgruntled patrons," he said. "You get the natural hall acoustics working\xa0\u2013 and then you get a miked performer." \nThe controversies go beyond acoustics and amplification\xa0\u2013 there's also the question of how to blend performers from the worlds of opera and Broadway in a single cast. On the other hand, there\u2019s a huge potential upside for opera houses: the ability to reach new audiences clamoring for the sound of a full orchestra, which has all but vanished from Broadway pits.\nThe trend has been particularly pronounced at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, which in recent years has staged \u201cOklahoma,\u201d \u201cShow Boat" \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d and now, Rodgers and Hammerstein's \u201cCarousel." Elsewhere, Stephen Sondheim's \u201cSweeney Todd\u201d is coming to Houston Grand Opera next week and San Francisco Opera in September. Companies in Los Angeles and Washington, DC as well as the Glimmerglass festival have also been bit by the Broadway bug.\nJames Jorden, editor of the opera website\xa0Parterre Box and a contributor to the New York Observer, notes that the now-defunct New York City Opera made a staple of musicals in the 1980s. And yet, "opera houses are not made for talking in," he said referring to the spoken dialogue. "Even with very excellent sound design, it's going to be difficult to do 'Carousel,' which is very talky."\nJorden and Jones also weigh in on the decline of the Broadway touring circuit and how that has opened up a place for opera companies, and whether more musicals means fewer operas for major houses. Jorden also tells us what musical he believes would be particularly well-suited for the Metropolitan Opera.\nListen to the full segment at the top of this page and tell us what you think of the trend in the comments box below.