Today I was going to go to Tian’anmen Square, not because there’s anything there I particularly wanted to look at, but because it’s huge, hugely symbolic and a place where you can still witness the forces of authoritarianism at work. It’s where you are most likely to find triumphant statues celebrating Mao and the revolution,…
Years ago my wife and I used to buy, very occasionally, a magazine called Wallpaper. I’m not sure why we did, as it seemed to be aimed at a radicalised wing of Observer colour supplement fanatics; the sort of people for whom weekends in thousand quid a night hotels are stock-in-trade, who spend four figures…
I’m in Brussels for two months, singing in Sweeney Todd for La Monnaie. I was supposed to be singing in Mark Grey’s new opera Frankenstein, but renovations at the opera house have overrun (who could possibly have predicted that?) and the elaborate set for Frankenstein wouldn’t fit into La Monnaie’s temporary home, a semi-rigid…
Arty fartisan
As any opera singer will tell you, it’s important to have stuff to do to keep you sane while you’re away from home. Some knit, some watch a lot of sport, some paint… I used to paint, but since the restrictions on liquids in hand luggage, the packing of my kit has become too…
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