The Arts Diary – ‘Hip Hop to Opera’ and the Edinburgh International Festival

‘Hip Hop to Opera’

The refreshing face of UK opera, Michael Volpe (founder of Opera Holland Park) has produced a film which captures eight inner-city teenagers experiencing opera for the very first time.

Opera Holland Park has shown itself to be not only a home for highly accomplished performances, but a supportive pillar of a divided community.  A former recipient of council funds, OHP was caught in the crossfire following Grenfell Tower amid accusations that Kensington and Chelsea Council was elitist and out of touch.  Not exempt from the tragedy, having lost a member of staff in the fire, OHP responded swiftly and sensitively, organising a memorial performance of Verdi’s Requiem which raised £40,000 for survivors. 

The film itself is very touching, and shows how exposing these kids to something they never thought was for them can truly be a transformative experience. Volpe makes the case that it’s not even about opera; it’s about giving young people alternative lenses through which to learn about themselves.  It’s just a shame that it’s been confined to iPlayer, and the BBC couldn’t find 25 minutes in the schedule to broadcast it to the nation.

You can watch the film here. Prepare to be moved.

The Edinburgh International Festival launched this week

On Wednesday night the 71st festival programme was launched by Fergus Linehan in Edinburgh’s McEwan Hall.  This year’s mantra, ‘It takes more than one language to tell a story’, is taken from a poem by Jackie Kay written for the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament in 2016.  Promising an open, diverse, and ever-more collaborative programme, there is a strong French influence this year in the form of resident artist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Théâtre Bouffes du Nord, and Opera de Lyon amongst others.  

Another interesting strand is the return to Leith Theatre after 30 years, which has fallen into disrepair over the years.  Leith, the stomping ground of smack addicts in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, has over the last decade played host to a good deal of regeneration and boasts a burgeoning arts scene.  It’s sad to read yesterday, however, that LeithLate, an annual arts festival, will not run in 2018 due to funding issues and disruptive plans to extend Edinburgh Trams deeper into Leith. 

Elsewhere in the programme are appearances from St Vincent, Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop (as the only women conductor), Company Wayne McGregor, and Nicola Benedetti.

We also interviewed Festival Programme Associate Jen White for this weekend’s podcast. Listen in here.

Disgraced conductor sues the New York Met

James Levine, who was fired by the opera house on Monday following an investigation that concluded he had ‘engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct’, has filed a lawsuit against the company for $5.8 million in damages.

The lawsuit reads: “It was only upon learning that the allegations would be published in the press that the Met and Gelb, cynically hijacking the good will of the #MeToo movement, brazenly seized on these allegations as a pretext to end a longstanding personal campaign to force Levine out of the Met and cease fulfilling its legally enforceable financial commitments to him.”

This seems a very spurious theory, particularly given the support the Met provided during Levine’s period of illness from 2011-13. Following the allegations, which came to light in December 2017, Levine was swiftly dumped by the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras and the Julliard School.

Value of creative industries even higher than expected

I continually hark on the about the economic prowess of the UK’s creative industries, and this week I’m crowing even louder.

The Creative Industries Federation has issued a report showing that the UK’s creative industries export £46 billion in goods and services overall, a whopping 24% higher than official figures suggest. 

The report, undertaken jointly with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, also found that digital exports alone are worth £21 billion.

John Kampfner, chief executive of the Creative Industries Federation said: “Digital is the future and the creative industries are leading the way. And, while the scale may be international, the impact is local.’

There’s hope yet for post-Brexit Britain.