Getting wrecked
Dame Ethel Smyth’s opera dated quickly, but it hardly hurts to have another look at it
The original, best and shortest English opera
John Blow, Venus and Adonis; Henry Purcell, Dido and Aeneas (HGO)
Singing lessons
Spare us the social justice preaching
Let’s appreciate Wagner for Wagner
Politics and historical commentary aside, Lohengrin is currently on at Covent Garden
Such sweet sorrow
Lent is an ideal time to take pleasure in a gentle, contemplative and very English strand of musical melancholia
Godunov for me
Ignoring Russian opera — and, in particular, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov — is a mistake
Genuine English opera
‘Peter Grimes’ labours under the weight of national anxieties
Strange happenings back in the USSR
The brilliant story of a Francis Bacon exhibition in Moscow
Too darn hot
Carmen still shocks and seduces
Theodora: an over-fussy feminist failure
With productions this bad, it is no surprise that nobody cares about opera
Most Read
The martyrdom of Young Bob
On ebbing power of the political influencer
Losing control of the narrative
The British establishment no longer sets the terms of public debate over migration
Grooming gangs and the truth
We should not give ammunition to deniers of the grooming gangs scandal
Babies need women
Leaving children with only men who are not their parents is foolish and dangerous
Stop ignoring the Islamisation of our democracy
The British state is bending to Islamism, not attempting to defeat it
Taxing the lights on
Miliband’s new levy undermines the very investment needed to bring energy prices down
The government must curb its appetite for junk policy
The “junk food advertising ban” is indigestible nonsense
What the reparations debate says about Britain
Social and ideological shifts mean that we face an increasingly divided future
How the sausage gets made
On the illusions of evidence-based policy
Jams, jellies and EU insanity
From toast to tungsten, the EU is an enemy of innovation
How the “Burnham bind” will rewrite British politics
If Andy Burnham wins in Makerfield, Labour has a bigger opportunity than people think
Unusual summer reds
Think exotic spices, maraschino cherries and curly shoes
The battle between sacred and profane
When the divine law appears to clash with our sense of justice, can it truly be considered divine?
The flawed thinking behind state suicide
Kathleen Stock demonstrates the value of a philosopher’s analytical mind in a sharp critique of assisted suicide
Fit for a queen
Hannah Betts reassesses the late Queen as a royal style maven
The Book of JO’B
James O’Brien’s aggressive incuriosity is becoming ever more embattled as his worldview crumbles