Over the past two decades, Orientalist representation has emerged as a major topic in operatic scholarship. When faced with elements of operatic exoticism in recent operas, scholars have repeatedly argued that parody is in play or that the signifiers of exoticism are no longer potent. Numerous composers and directors likewise have declared their separation from the Orientalist past. Has "postmodern" and "post-colonial" opera and operatic production achieved an emancipation of Orientalist signs?