The Guardian
Photo by Tristram Kenton
stop pandering to purists
“Russell Thomas says opera must reflect the diverse world around it to survive, not stick to the ‘same-old, same-old’. ‘The only way opera can survive is if it looks on stage like what the world looks like today. The cities that we’re in are much more diverse than they were 50 years ago. The people who are likely to be able to afford an opera ticket are much more diverse. So it doesn’t make sense that we would only allow one group of people and maybe have the one-off black guy on stage or one-off Asian person on stage.’”