September 2021 Volume 72 No. 9 Editor John Allison Deputy Editors Erica Jeal Henrietta Bredin Commercial Director Megan Jackson Editorial Board Hugh Canning Rupert Christiansen Andrew Clark Andrew Clements Richard Fairman George Hall Fiona Maddocks Roger Parker Editorial Offices 36 Black Lion Lane London W6 9BE Telephone: 020 8563 8893 editor@opera.co.uk www.opera.co.uk

operamagazine @operamagazine @opera_magazine Subscriptions and customer services Esco, Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4AY Telephone: 01371 851804 Fax: 01371 851808 opera@escosubs.co.uk Digital edition Exact Editions support@exacteditions.com www.exacteditions.com/opera Advertising Russell Bass, Cabbells Ltd Telephone: 020 3603 7937 russell@cabbells.uk Front cover Graham Vick (see pp. 1073-80) (photo: Hugo Glendinning)

Opera, September 2021

Founded in 1950 by the Earl of Harewood

Past Editors Harold Rosenthal

and Rodney Milnes

1069 Collective experience

By the Editor 1070 Newsdesk 1073 Graham Vick, 1953-2021

Andrew Clements 1081 People 499: Angel Blue

Jessica Duchen 1087 Mystery of the inner soul

Great singers in great roles: Sylvia Sass talks to Jon Tolansky about Bartók’s Judith 1095 Readers’ letters 1098 The pleasure of opera

Lorenzo Viotti talks to Nick Kimberley 1102 What’s your poison?

A short introduction to operatic toxicology by Alexander Campbell 1110 ‘Welcome to the future’

Julia Noulin-Mérat talks to Ken Smith 1114 Lady of the winding stair

Russell Burdekin explores an opera by Queen Elizabeth II’s great aunt 1121 ‘You come ’cos it’s there’

David Chandler on opera as high culture in TV’s ‘Only Fools and Horses’ 1126 Obituaries 1129 Opera around the world 1161 Opera in Britain 1184 Opera online 1185 Opera on CD 1192 Opera on DVD and Blu-ray 1194 Opera books 1199 Coming events

including plans for the UK houses, San Francisco; Spotlight; ‘We hear that …’; Opera calendar home and abroad 1207 Classified advertisements 1208 For the record

Christine Brewer

1065