Content warning
On triggering opera and Arts Council England
High-octane despair
Das Rheingold, Royal Opera House
Bad-boy opera
Tosca, Grand Opera House, Belfast
The cat in a hat
A colourful glimpse into a dramatic feast of sex and death
Why it’s time to drop Don Giovanni
Mariame Clément’s new production of Don Giovanni falls prey to modern mores.
An effortful opera
A fun but difficult production of Il Trovatore
Proper pro opera
Fun with fear and failure
Freak shows
Horrors wrestled into being
Spring to life
April in London has a number of operatic things that look kind of fun
Britain should stand up to Mauritius
The British Government must make it clear that it will not allow a foreign country to threaten British citizens
Must we keep failing universities alive?
History is full of institutions which could not justify their own existence
Explaining the gender gap in politics
Why men and women have been marching in different ideological directions
Attack is the best form of defence
The right cannot always be fighting a rearguard action in the culture wars
February letters
Questioning Cameron, cautioning Houellebecq and disputing the image of God
The creation of canals
Entering the golden age of canals
Police Scotland must stop patronising the public
The Hate Crime And Public Order Act will waste the time of the police and endanger the freedoms of the public
Crocodile Keir
For all of Sunak’s shoddy timing, Starmer’s opportunism was pathetic
Maligning the missionaries
Should the Church of England regret the promotion of Christianity?
Women in prisons deserve better
Classifying male criminals as women adds insult to injury
Arresting the fertility crisis
Britain needs more babies — and it is far from alone
