Lila Palmer: ‘We do not have to choose between innovation and excellence – and we must not’

Opinion
Thursday, April 4, 2024
| Opera Now

The librettist Lila Palmer on setting the right direction for the development of opera in the 21st century

Has opera had enough grey concrete?

Opinion
Thursday, April 4, 2024
| Opera Now

Why on earth am I being made to watch yet another operatic story told within grey concrete walls and under arid strip lighting?

If Taylor Swift was an opera composer…

Opinion
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
| Opera Now

Exploring the singer’s parallels with Puccini and why the opera stage should utilise up-and-coming songwriters

If Manchester is to work, ENO needs to forget about London

Opinion
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
| Opera Now

Am I rejoicing about the announcement from ENO that it will ‘move’ to Manchester? Yes and no...

'Week-in-week-out, I see examples of the ensemble system working brilliantly and failing miserably' | Opinion

Opinion
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
| Opera Now

How do you solve a problem like ensemble system?

Folk won’t stop worrying about what to wear for opera, until we all stop talking about it | Opinion

Opinion
Monday, November 27, 2023
| Opera Now

'It’s due partly to the class trappings that still linger around opera, partly to media representation of it and partly to the general aura that we, the opera crowd, tend to emit.'

Without tangible support, I fear that opera will truly wither | Harry Hyman

Opinion
Thursday, October 26, 2023
| Opera Now

In 2012 entrepreneur Harry Hyman set up the International Opera Awards with the aim of celebrating the art form and providing financial support to those in the profession. This year, more than ever, the awards provide a vital moment for celebration in the context of great adversity

Conservatoires need cultural change to fix their misconduct crisis | Leah Broad

Opinion
Thursday, October 19, 2023
| Opera Now

Scrapping one-to-one tuition might be an easy solution, but it’s not the right solution

Queer inheritance, politics and opera – writing 'Bermondsey, 1983'

Opinion
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
| Opera Now

Homophobia surrounded the 1983 Bermondsey by-election. Robert Reid Allan's true-story opera looks at this landmark in queer history and questions how far we have still to go

'In Europe, the industry treats "contemporary opera" as a problem' | Bill Bankes-Jones

Opinion
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
| Opera Now

Contemporary opera company Tête à Tête's Artistic Director on the future of new opera

'If we want people of all backgrounds to engage with opera, it needs to happen in places fully accessible by public transport' | Prompter – Andrew Mellor

Opinion
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
| Opera Now

Life beyond the country house – one summer weekend in the broadsheets crystallises the stark crossroads facing British opera

Is it time to put the brakes on our intellectual superiority when talking about opera? | Andrew Mellor

Opinion
Friday, July 21, 2023
| Opera Now

Where is contemporary opera? | Claire Jackson

Opinion
Monday, June 26, 2023
| Opera Now

‘It’s perplexing to see that the Royal Opera House's 2023-24 season doesn’t feature a single contemporary work on the main stage’

‘Opera’s future must be determined, and created, by those who make it and love it’ | Andrew Mellor

Opinion
Monday, June 26, 2023
| Opera Now

A new column from Andrew Mellor, celebrating opera and prompting important discussions about the industry

Should I be concerned about the widespread ignorance of classical music?

Opinion
Thursday, June 1, 2023
| International Piano

In the wider world, why is ignorance bliss when it comes to classical music, wonders a despairing Charivari