SECULAR LiTURgiES
Anullnull nullust nullanulle nullrnullnulles
TnullnullSutnullnullnullnullnulle fulnullinates against the denullotic innulluence
of reality television on serious artistic productions
null
othing wrong with incentives. nullear of nullor hope fornull nullpera got Rupert nulloold, a current toast of the nullest
what might hapnullen to one in the anullernulllife may stinulll nullnd, to stage nullunullandot nullhaving never staged an opera
be a motivating factor in religions. nullut surely the beforenull and television producer nullenny nulloolcocnull,
emphasis on rewards and prinulles in the nullritish arts world whose production of nullohn nulldams’s nulloctonullAtomic was
has got out of hand, when the lead role in a commercial depressingly incoherent last season, to tacnullle nullinullet’s
production of a musical is the winner of a talent contest melodious romance The Peanulll Fishenulls.
senullled by popular vote.
nullam not saying there is no undiscovered or undeveloped nullnulluranullnullranulles
talent out there. nullor that the preferences of the punullic mean nullhere are tomorrow’s nullritish opera directors going
nothing. nullut the belief that you can be a singer or an actor to come fromnullnullur pronullem is there is so linullle opera in
nullust because a lot of people linulle the way you loonull, and how nullritain nulland no theatre at anulll based on renullular permanent
you do things on the screen, is surely absurd. nullt’s not nullust a ensemnulles of actors wornulling consistently together nullwhich
pleasing game. means there is no proper training environment where opera
Reality television is cheap entertainment, however and theatre directors can learn their snullinulll as apenull ntices.
unreal, because people are amused by any mirror that shows nullut how do the talented nullids get their chancesnull nulle
up the distinctiveness of everybody. nullut it anulll fits snugly sunuller in nullritain from not having enough opera companies
together with a nullritish performing with a need for young pianists to act
arts estanullishment that is largely the as repetiteurs and graduanullly wornull
plaything of amateur boards of rich
tnulls nullas tnull one onull tnull nullorst
their way up into being conductors.
successful entrepreneurs.
dnullenulled Gnullnulldenullurne
nullhat budding conductors need is the
Tnull nullnullnullnullannulls
odunullnullns enull nuller
enullperience of wornulling with less good
artists in order to nullnow what a benefit
nullhat has hapnullened in nullritain is that it is to wornullwith benuller artists. null ing
there are few performing arts institutions, whether in music good performances with the ordinarily musical nullom, nullicnull
or in the theatre and opera cnull ompared with other nulluropean and Harriet is the real building nullocnullof nullritish cultural life.
countries or the nullnullnull. nullo there is a dearth of environments nulle nullhurch with its choirs and services and performancenull
where people can acnulluire the training they need, without orientated buildings does a lot for our culture.
being placed prematurely in the limelight. nulle nullrits seem enull r years wornulling as a critic on The nulluanulldian, nullonullue,
prone to the belief, fostered by modern technology and the nullvening Standanulld etc nullbelieve criticism is far less about
communications, that everybody can do anything bnull ecause recognising genius, than about helping audiences apenull ciate
the microphone, cinematography and the art of editing can the best of whatever they are genulling. nullnfortunately, these
manufacture an impressive simulacrum of performance. days, nullust as everybody thinnulls anybody can do anything
nullanulle nulllyndebourne, where the season winulll open on and democracy rules supreme, so critics have become as
null y null with Billnull Bunulld in a new production that winulll unpopular and unvalued as nullournalists and politicians.
be director nullchael nullrandage’s debut in opera. nullt the nulln an age where memory is mechanised and music can be
nullonmar nullarehouse, nullrandage has the nulldas touch. nulle recorded and almost perfectly reproduced, there is less and
punullicity says launching theatre directors into opera is a less interest in enullpertise. nullisteners can ‘sucnullit and see’ for
nulllyndebourne tradition. nullut it’s a recent one. themselves. nullny use music as aural wanulllpaper, according
nullast summer’s nulllyndebourne season included nullvoranull’s to their taste.
fairytale opera nullusalnulla staged by null ly inull nulll manulling her nullt is the age of wishnullfulfilment, inulllusion and amateurism.
opera debut. nulln my opinion, shared with Hugh nullanning nullou can become a star because you are popular for who and
of the Sundanull imes, this was the one of the worst directed what you are, rather than for what you do. nulle film closenullup
nulllyndebourne productions ever. has made beautiful loonulls manuller, compared with the theatre
nullctuanullly nulllyndebourne was built on nullerman and nulltalian in the old days when even bright lighting could not ‘reveal anulll. ’
professionals, but neither nulls nullhristie nor nullavid nullicnullard inull nulll and training are not needed. nullnly where we listen to
has any notion who the nullnther Rennert of today might the nanulled voice nullas in operanullis professionalism inescapanully
be. nullrinullen’s opera, unusuanullly, has no female rolesnullit is also crucial. nullut we now have the nullurner nullrinulle and the nulloonuller
an opera with a lot of chorus wornulland a long cast list. nullrinulle. nullomposers of unpopular modern music can win
nullrandage has no enullperience directing an opera chorus. nullut the nullrawemeyer nullward, now worth nullnull,nullnull nullith that
his production winulll be solidly conventional. sort of money null art could have given up composing
nullanwhile at the nullondon nulloliseum, nullnglish nullational altogethernull
ND
34 
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  newdirections 
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  February 2010
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