On Opera
Singing lessons
Spare us the social justice preaching
Godunov for me
Ignoring Russian opera — and, in particular, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov — is a mistake
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
Musical Lessons
Could the jazz-hands pizzaz of musical theatre be just what opera needs?
Into the mystic
Contemporary debates over the “suitability” of many operas leaves us with only English productions
Ring of fire
The ENO’s production of The Valkyrie may lack flames, but it is convincing nonetheless
Hot Valks live!
While belly-laughs are not frequent, there’s terrific fun to be had in this massive soap-opera-style family melodrama
To the bitter end
Why on earth would we want to see the same tawdry old stories endlessly re-enacted?
The G&S divide
A large proportion of the English drive themselves mad with a baroque cocktail of fury, snobbery and self-hatred over Gilbert and Sullivan