Well, based on what I hear from people around me, read, etc, I don't think it's so much that virtuosity isn't thought of as a valid music theory in critical circles, it's that the rather small minority of mainstream audiences who actually care and pay attention to other people in a band besides the vocalist don't really know a virtuoso when they hear one. I mean, why else will people say things like "Man, Fall Out Boy has the best guitarist I've ever listened to, etc" unless they simply don't know it when they hear it, or, hell, never have heard someone play who is a master at their instrument?
On the other had, its not as if there wasn't a time when instrumental virtuosity and interplay wasn't the norm for the vast majority of listeners. How else can you explain prog. rock's massive popularity with a fairly diverse radio-listening audience back in the early-mid 70's? Yet, because virtuosity isn't something that today's majority of music consumers look for, the issue of when/where it becomes too much doesn't make for much of a discussion in today's world unless you are a musician yourself or someone who seeks out that kind of debate.
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