It is coming up on two years since Philip Kerr, author of the Bernie Gunther detective thrillers, died of cancer at the age of 62. The loss to both literature and entertainment was considerable. The Edinburgh-born writer was a master of his craft. More than that, he gave us a hero, deeply flawed, operating in the grotesque milieu of Second World War Berlin, who manages somehow to hold on to his humanity.
The success of the International Opera Awards is intellectual rigour
At the awards ceremony in Munich this year, a jury dug deep into the purpose of opera and its impact on society.
