Give it a cursory glance, and opera hardly seems terribly well acquainted with ethics, morals, the norms of civilised behaviour. Its characters are weak, vain and wretched, obsessed with their threadbare honour, indifferent to the bonds of matrimony, volcanoes of hysteria, neurosis, ambition, adolescent hormones. Like Bart Simpson, tell them something’s a no-no and you can bet they’ll do it the moment your back is turned.
Which is precisely what makes opera the most human of arts. Since Eve took that fruit, being human has been intimately involved with doing the forbidden thing. Orpheus turns to look at Eurydice and loses her. Semele demands to make love with Zeus in his divine form and is incinerated for her trouble. Judith burns to look behind one door too many in Bluebeard
19 October 2013, The Tablet
Roman Carnivals
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User Comments (3)
What is it about supposedly well educated people that they do not understand UKIP? They have fallen for the Media's erroneous description of what UKIP stand for. It has NOTHING to do with racism.It is quite simply that there is no more room left in this country for any more people whether they are white, black, purple or green.It's all very nice in your ivory towers welcoming everyone with open arms, because at the end of the day, it will not affect your cosy little life. Try living in Newham, Poplar, Bethnal Green or Acton, and then see how you feel
So it is OK to vote for racism? UKIP is a party of half-wits - they all come out with comments worthy of idiots and then get fired because their mouths are bigger than their brains. UKIP is a one-issue party and they blame immigration for all the woes in the UK, just as the Nazi Party blamed the Jews. No Catholic can vote for these lunatics (otherwise Bishop Egan will excommunicate you)
I will also be voting for UKIP on May 7th. I am certainly aware of their shortcomings, however I am, like you, deeply troubled by the fact that the Conservatives supported the redefining of marriage.
On a brighter note, the deputy leader of UKIP, Paul Nuttall, is a practicing Catholic and a member of the pro-life, Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). Just today, the Christian Institute website has an article detailing his opposition to sex education in primary schools:
http://www.christian.org.uk/news/primary-school-kids-not-ready-for-sex-ed-says-ukip-2/
He, like me, seems to be worried about sexualising children at such a tender age and taking away their innocence. Lastly, both of the current UKIP MPs, Mark Reckless and Douglas Carswell, voted in favour of an explicit ban on sex-selective abortion - most other MPs did not.