London, 25 September 2019

Gothic Opera, a brand new London opera company, is set to launch its first season this Hallowe’en with an atmospheric, vibrant and irreverent production of Der Vampyr by Heinrich Märschner. Taking the dark, eerie intensity of gothic fiction as its starting point, Gothic Opera is dedicated to rarely-performed and atmospheric operatic works, and is committed to opening opera up to new audiences, hoping to inspire people to come and experience opera in unusual, characterful and spooky spaces.
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Originally posted at I Care If You Listen:

A chaplaincy service says it’s becoming an increasingly worrying time for workers on big ships and how important is it to teach LGBT lessons at primary school? [in which Silk Moth librettist Eleanor Knight and I discuss Ruthless Jabiru’s forthcoming production Silk Moth for Grimeborn Festival (2:49:00)]

Ruthless Jabiru welcomes lauded British-Egyptian mezzo Camille Maalawy to perform the principal role of Mother in the orchestra’s forthcoming production Silk Moth for Grimeborn Festival 2019.

Maalawy has won critical acclaim for her passion and expressiveness across Arabic and Sephardic song in addition to continuing success on the opera and concert stage. Her Continue reading →

Originally posted at eleanorknight2016 :

“What would you say to your dead wife or daughter if she were still here?”

“I would say that I acted out of love, and I know that she would understand.”

This  exchange appears in Witold Szablowski’s collection of reportage from Turkey, The Assassin from Apricot City and simply and devastatingly illustrates the complexity of ‘honour’.

Honour, as I understand it as I sit here tapping away in East Sussex, is about acting with ethical integrity, with an awareness of a higher purpose, of doing the best one can as a human being.

But what about ‘honour’ so destructive that it leads to the violent deaths of 5,000 women a year worldwide, including about a dozen in the UK?
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