Robert Thicknesse
Robert Thicknesse is the Critic's opera critic
A belly full of agitpropera
Opera really doesn’t need the help of activist directors when it comes to politics — it’s all there already
Schlock of the new
Those in charge are in thrall to vain provocateur directors
Naughty but nice
Every six months or so opera surfaces from its undersea lair, like a Bond villain, to enter public consciousness — generally when it’s been naughty.
Humza Yousaf, global citizen
Britain needs one, and only one, foreign policy
The secrets of familial suffering
Recovering from the burden of generational pain can be a private act
Struggles of a veteran matador
Familiarity can make the heart grow cooler, but greatness can still prevail
Arresting the fertility crisis
Britain needs more babies — and it is far from alone
Dissent is not hatred
We must resist the idea that disagreement with modish beliefs is reducible to ill-feeling
Has Israel walked into a forever war?
A brutal conflict seems unlikely to be winnable any time soon
Poor old Carmen
This update of a classic from the Royal Opera House is a reminder of why messing with great pieces is so risky
Tragedy of the common spaces
It is sadly in keeping with the modern British mindset to prefer something good not to be done
British spies and the IRA
Blair, Clinton, Ahern et al were credited with putting together the Northern Ireland peace deal, but 800 British agents also played their part
Campus confidential
Inside the secret Cambridge societies hiding their unfashionable views
Scratches in the stonework of history
A new history of graffiti and rebellion is less light and bawdy than one may have expected