Ian Bostridge
The Apostle of Aldeburgh
Benjamin Britten’s festival proves that in music small is beautiful
Hard to Swallow
When thinking about my voice, I’m more comfortable with metaphor than physiology
Mesmeric Modulations
Two 19th-century novels reveal contrasting attitudes to music and its place in Jewish culture
Love in the Time of Cholera
Death in Venice poses many questions, among them: moustache or no moustache?
Enough to Make You Spit
A common cold or the flu can spell disaster for a professional singer
Timing is Everything
Music grapples with time and transcends philosophy
Serious Music for Serious Times
There is an extraordinary fit between Japanese musical tastes and German Lieder
Suffer the Children
Young people can be inspirational in the audience, problematic on stage
The Subtle Subversive
Unlike rock’s phoney rebelliousness, classical music still has the power to challenge entrenched ideas
There’s no Place Like Home for a Singer
Intimacy, authenticity and domescity combine to make for a great performance
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal