I appreciate that Bob may be trying for a different angle but the subtextual reference to Palpatine killing his former Master seems important to me.

For one thing it's one of the few moments of convincing subtlety in the whole PT as well as setting up the interesting Master/Slave relationship between Vader and Palpatine in the OT in a single line.

Palpatine always keeps his apprentices down because he knows what will happen to him if they get too strong and he will drop them the moment they become too weak or look like they will gain a strong apprentice of their own.

The opera scene is one of the best moments of the PT but I'm still for improving it and seeing alternate takes but I would be careful of cutting out what works.

It's so rare that PT functions the moments when it happens should be enshrined as proof of how good these films could have been if the people responsible had used a bit of thought and discernment.