More to the point, Decca also has dropped the libretto, a scandalously cheap tactic. What could they have been thinking? That the words emerge with such clarity that texts are unnecessary? That's certainly not the case. What makes this even more puzzling is the inclusion of texts and translations in the Decca Legends reissue of Sutherland's first Lucia di Lammermoor, released at the very same time as this Grimes. Evidently English speakers are entitled to understand what is being sung, while foreigners will not be afforded the same courtesy. Isn't it time that Decca got past this sort of provincial stupidity and released product consistently and intelligently packaged for the international market? Or maybe I have it entirely wrong, and what we're really dealing with is an endearing little corporate Freudian slip: perhaps Decca subconsciously feels that Britten's masterpiece doesn't deserve the same care in packaging and presentation as that lavished on Donizetti's. Interesting thought.