It pains me to say this about a Tory, but the response in Parliament by Alex Burghart to the release of the Mandelson papers was exemplary.

A brilliant analysis Andrew Miller - England's Brendon McCullum era may have run out of road | ESPNcricinfo share.google/ART9h6LD1Wgk...

Wordle 1,724 2/6 ⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Big win. Lottery ticket beckons.

At the risk of sounding like a contrarian, I do wish people would lay off Timothée Chalamet. The overreaction amongst opera folk to one careless remark has been punishing. He's done his time now. Move on.

This was special. My review for @bachtrack.com

Traitorous or Treacherous? I'm always keen to learn, so which word better describes the despicable Farage? The distinction is subtle but both words seem appropriate. #LordHawHaw

This was special. My review for @bachtrack.com

Wordle 1,721 X/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 Enjoy Wordle. Knock yourself out.

Last night I dreamt that the new #Ghosts film should be called 'Ghosts - For Good' and now conscious me can't improve on that.

Tonight I'll be at the @southbankcentre.bsky.social to hear the LPO and their newly-installed Chief Conductor Designate Paavo Järvi in action. - Tchaik PC2 with Kantarow - Sibelius 2 Reviewing for @bachtrack.com

News: Paavo Järvi appointed as new Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor of the @LPOrchestra

My review for @bachtrack.com of Thursday's Barbican concert

We killed 85 schoolgirls. We are not the good guys.

As this is still rolling, I will say one thing about Yuja Wang; I don't know a practising musician who wouldn't feel honoured to even get a reply from her.

Successive interviews by Nick Robinson this morning perfectly sum up the BBC: with Zack Polanski: sneering, aggressive, constantly interrupting. with David Bull, Reform's Chairman: polite, nodding along, barely any interruptions. Amazing. Will share the link when it's up so you can listen too.

Proud to be associated with Musical America www.musicalamerica.com/mnews/newsst...

My second 7 pm start of the week and I couldn't be happier. At last the needs of concert and opera goers who live outside London are being recognised. @barbicancentre.bsky.social

To the @barbicancentre.bsky.social later to hear Patricia Kopatchinskaja play Berg's beautiful and profound VC with the LSO under Noseda. Programme also inc. Debussy's Nuages + Fêtes and Rach 1. I'll be reviewing for @bachtrack.com. Meanwhile here's a nice gif...

Tonight I'll be at Guildhall for the first night of Britten's Owen Wingrave. It'll be the second time I've seen a student production of it by GSMD. Reviewing for Opera.

If you've woken up this morning thinking 'It's the weekend and I've just read an interesting review of Mahagonny at ENO'... ...you've missed it. Three strikes and they're out.

Merci infiniment, Mathieu. J'ai la chair de poule suite à une telle perfection.

Sam Marlowe in @thestage.co.uk, never knowingly underpunned. "I wouldn’t go so far as to say it sucks, but it certainly doesn’t bite." edition.thestage.co.uk/dracula-revi...

When someone imposes a reading then berates the play for not following it. "...a cautionary tale of the dangerous outsider-immigrant. Dracula travels to British shores and is likened to plague-like vermin by Stoker. This is not unpicked at all here, despite its current, real-world relevance."

I was 72½ years old before I learnt that 'Villers' is an accepted pronunciation of the surname 'Villiers'. And there's me thinking it was just pig ignorance at work - like 'mischeevyus'.

'Show me the way to the next whisky bar...' Back of the stalls at the London Coliseum. Gets busy at the interval though. Tonight I'll be there for ENO's new production of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Reviewing for Opera mag.

Tonight I'll be at the @barbicancentre.bsky.social to hear Daniele Rustioni conduct the BBC SO in Bernstein Symphonic Dances from West Side Story and Rachmaninov's Symphony 3. Reviewing for Musical America.

I've been snorting episodes of Smiley's People, recorded from BBC4. It's as wonderful as I remembered. The scene in episode 3 between Alec Guinness and Bernard Hepton in a Parisian art boutique is a thing of rapture. I've watched it twice just to bathe in it.

Dear @radiotimes.bsky.social Thank you for delivering next week's Radio Times to me on the correct (= usual) day. Will you be reimbursing me for last week's edition? That's the one you failed to deliver at all. Yours in sight irritation Mark

So the fall-out from the wretched Mandelson scandal has led Scotland’s Labour leader to call for Keir Starmer to resign. Meanwhile, last year… There is always a tweet.

Surprised how much I enjoyed 'Is This Thing On?', Bradley Cooper's film about marriage. The narrative starts chaotically, like a messy marriage, then gradually a more assured shape evolves as the protagonists learn to navigate their relationships. Fascinating drama.

Training the 10-man curling team for the 17-day Winter Olympics costs the taxpayer £6.3m. Royal Scottish National Orchestra play to audiences year round: 66 full-time musicians costs us £4.2m It’s not about one or the other, but why the vast disparity? www.thetimes.com/article/6c3e...

I, a debonair sophisticate, am killing time before tonight's glittering first night sitting on Waterloo Station and eating a Tesco sandwich. Rock 'n' roll.

Looking forward to seeing Stoppard's magnificent Arcadia tonight for the first time since its original run.

Johnny Diamond just said "Of course the big news of the day is the return of The Muppets..." which works whichever way you look at it. #BBCR4Today

Double Olivier Award-winning actor Henry Goodman will play Gregory Solomon in Arthur Miller’s drama The Price, running at Marylebone Theatre from 17 Apr-7 Jun. The production is directed by Jonathan Munby whose recent work includes acclaimed productions of King Lear & The Merchant of Venice.

What nonsense is this? Are we really going to have a debate about tax/spending on these terms? I don’t have children or living parents, yet cheerfully pay Council Tax for education and adult social care BECAUSE I LIVE IN SOCIETY

Tonight I'll be at the ROH for the RBO (opera subsection)'s... (Honestly, there has to be an easier way to describe it. The Royal Opera, maybe? Is that not accessible enough?) Anyway, I'll be in Covent Garden for the revival of Boris Godunov. Reviewing it for Opera mag.

Chris Mason BBC Political Editor is paid circa £270,000 by licence payers. His expertise includes Promoting Farage & Reform at any opportunity ✅ Avoiding challenging Farage/Reform re policies, funding, U-Turns, lies etc ✅ Producing negative PR on Govt/other parties✅ Amplifying Right Wing rhetoric ✅

Off to the Cockpit Theatre later to see Ensemble Orquesta's production of Così fan tutte. Reviewing for Opera.

Top man, Ben, for sharing this.

This interview with conductor Ben Glassberg by my colleague Elisabeth Schwarz is well worth your time and a salutary reminder of the pressures performers face under the social media microscope: bachtrack.com/interview-be...

I thoroughly enjoyed this treat from Joshua Bell and the @asmforchestra. Here's my review for @bachtrack.com

I've read two grumpy online reviews of Barcelona's new Tristan und Isolde at the Liceu. Both scorned the stripped back design. I haven't seen the show so I can't comment. However, with an opera of Tristan's unique interiority and abstraction less is always more. This one sounds right up my street.

Tonight I'll be at Cadogan Hall to hear the ASMF and Joshua Bell in Brahms (the Vn Concerto) and Schumann (1st Symphony). Reviewing for @bachtrack.com

Ralph Moore's searching survey of every Pelléas et Mélisande audio recording up to and including Rattle. If you are as potty about Debussy's opera as I am, this is for you. You'll be challenged by some of his opinions... but that's the point! www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/201...

Wordle 1,675 6/6 ⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨 ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜ ⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 That was close. My whole streak flashed before my eyes.

#News The new UK Opera Association has named former Labour MP and ex-professional cellist Thangam Debbonaire as its first chief executive. The lobby group launches with 20 founding members, incl. Covent Garden, ENO, Glyndebourne. What should it tackle first? #Opera #UK

I was moved as seldom before. A prodigious revival of RBO's La traviata that's anything but routine. ★★★★★ from me at @bachtrack.com

I was moved as seldom before. A prodigious revival of RBO's La traviata that's anything but routine. ★★★★★ from me at @bachtrack.com