Back in April, the FIA Formula E circus, such as it is, trooped into Long Beach, California, and did its level best to imitate racing in the vacuum of space. Looking like three-quarter-scale Indy cars but making RC-car noises instead of engine bawl, they cat-yowled past quietly enough to hear the skitching of tires and the poot-poot of pneumatic gearchanges. Watching, I was reminded of a scene in the 1984 film Amadeus in which Emperor Joseph II of Austria walks in on a rehearsal of the new opera The Marriage of Figaro to find dancers silently prancing on the stage, the only sound being the thump and swish of ballet slippers. ?What is this,? asks the ­confused emperor, ?is it modern"? Told that his own decree against ballet in opera is the reason there?s no music, Joseph watches for a second and then says: ?Well look at them! No, no, no! This is nonsense.? Mozart is told to try it with the original score, and his screwball comedy goes on to become one of the world?s most beloved operas. READ MORE ??
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