England’s remarkable Ashes fightback
It was a madhouse in Perth, in the latest instalment of sport’s oldest international skirmish. England, who opted to bat…
My debt to the teacher who introduced me to Wagner
We saw the world end in Berlin, again. Another Ring Cycle – hurrah! – in the beautiful Staatsoper theatre on…
Erling Haaland could never match Denis Law
‘Talent is plentiful’, said Laurence Olivier. ‘Skill is much rarer’. Although the great actor was talking about the stage he…
Why City’s ‘victory’ against the Premier League leaves me cold
‘The Premier League has the champions it deserves’, read the message from an old pal in May, after Manchester City’s…
Has Bazball rescued or ruined cricket?
Thanks to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, English Test cricket has been revolutionised – at the expense of the gentle, contemplative game
Musical misfits
How are non-conformists assimilated within the cloistered walls of tradition? Richard Wagner supplied the best answer to the age-old question…
Hateful Hundred
This slick new tournament will ruin cricket
Twilight in the bayou: The New Iberia Blues, by James Lee Burke, reviewed
The king of crime fiction doesn’t need a crown and sceptre. Every page proclaims his majesty. James Lee Burke has…
The Hundred will kill cricket – in all forms
‘There can be no summer in this land without cricket’, wrote Neville Cardus, whose rhapsodic vision of the game lies…
A champion actor and fully paid-up member of the human race: Roger Allam interviewed
A most excellent fellow, Roger Allam. On the stage he brings dignity to all he does, in the noblest traditions…
Northern overexposure
Manchester isn’t downtrodden, whatever Andy Burnham says. Quite the opposite, in fact
Anarchy in the EU
Paul Cook, the Sex Pistols’ drummer, on fame, notoriety and why Brexit wouldn’t be punk
Elite sport
The England team may be riding high, but state schools have all but abandoned cricket
My Schubert cruise was a transport of delight
Michael Henderson is transported to raptures on a Schubert cruise
Being the best
This time last year, England’s cricketers were 2-0 up against Australia, two thirds of the way towards their third consecutive…
Prague
Prague, ‘Golden Prague’, is rich in music, architecture, glassware, pilsner and natural beauty. It is one of those places where…
Ken Loach is a bore
He hasn’t made anything worth watching since Kes
Musical youth
Michael Henderson talks to Glyndebourne’s fresh-faced new music director, Robin Ticciati
Venice
For Henry James it was ‘the repository of consolations’. Wordsworth, an earlier visitor, called it ‘the eldest child of liberty’.…
At the crossroads again
Michael Henderson wonders what direction English National Opera will now take
Oscar syndrome
Awards ceremonies grow ever sillier and more self-important
Farewell, Claudio Abbado
Fellini’s credo ‘the visionary is the only true realist’ could also be applied to the life of Claudio Abbado, who…
Music in Vienna
There is no finer city in which to hear music than Vienna. Or, to put it more felicitously, there is…
The music of innocence
Michael Henderson on the splendour of carols
Flogging a dead parrot
Monty Python was funny once. But a revival is a dreadful idea
