On Opera
Why it’s time to drop Don Giovanni
Mariame Clément’s new production of Don Giovanni falls prey to modern mores.
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
Going for a song
In true bel canto, the only important thing is the voice, the song
Just do the bloody show
Rusalka, Royal Opera House
Beyond satire
Opera North and English Touring Opera have plied an honourable trade without trying to gain kudos
It’s not for kids
Children are always unwelcome in Opera, except in The Magic Flute
Pulp Puccini
Having the hots for Tosca
How soap helped civilisation to survive
It subdued one of our most dangerous enemies: germs
Bloody opposition
The Tories have left Britain in the hands of managers, judges and technocrats
Struggles of a veteran matador
Familiarity can make the heart grow cooler, but greatness can still prevail
The scarlet letter
A touchy-feely Labour government must embrace the ugly reality of business
Tough on smoking, tough on alternatives to smoking
We should give smokers healthier options, not no options
It’s our party and we’ll cry if we want to
Women face grim choices in the forthcoming election
Post election rundown
Three very sleepy men discuss the election result
Can jokes in terrible taste ever be funny?
Wisecracks is clearly the work of an academic philosopher adept at teasing out fine distinctions between “offenses” and “harms”
Woke invades the sciences
The intrusion of irrational ideology is distorting and censoring science
Scruffy splendour
Holy Week showcases a very Venetian combination of Renaissance splendour and DIY
