Missing the point

Robert Thicknesse on Opera

● REALLY, YOU’D THINK THEY MIGHT have learned the lesson by now, the opera apparat: don’t show off, keep your head down, everything will probably be fine. Alternatively, make like the late unlamented chief exec of ENO, wave your arms around and shout about how amazing you are, how your audience is entirely composed of black kidz, and disaster will swamp you. People will remember you exist, the papers will dump chortling scorn on you, the Arts Council will come calling, and goodnight Charlie. Obviously, no good can come from jemmying open the lid and letting light in on opera. But alas, it’s about to happen again: the biggie will be the biopic of Maria Callas (it’s the centenary of her birth) with Angelina Jolie doubtless the eye of a…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2023

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