On Opera

Original sin

Robert Thicknesse on the woes of modern, British opera

Odes to joy

Robert Thicknesse on Rossini’s extraordinary de-cluttering of the musical atmosphere

Foreign frivolity

Robert Thicknesse on how the idea that foreign poetry was better than local soon became established dogma

Losing the plot

Robert Thicknesse reveals how in searching for meaning, opera adaptations are becoming more obscure

Shock of the new

People are terrified of modernity’s great gift: the sudden freedom to make appalling noise, says Robert Thicknesse

Cheer leaders

Opera unswervingly believes in the potential for a divine spark in humans, says Robert Thicknesse

Do not go gently

Opera has treated the subject of cancelling the pleasures of others in some depth

How about some vistas of beauty?

Covent Garden’s first post-lockdown offering is in a long, grim tradition

Sex tips from Semele

Opera was the tinder of Renaissance Venice, says Robert Thicknesse

A grim chorus of philistines

Rishi’s £1.57 Billion handout to the arts sector is the last good news it’ll ever hear, says Robert Thicknesse