The Minotaur at the heart of the labyrinth as a metaphor for our times?

Difficult not to make comparisons between any number of world leaders and the image of a trapped but powerful figure lashing out in impotent rage, bellowing incomprehensibly, half man, half beast, viewed with a combination of terror and pity. Whether you agree or not, I’d recommend catching John Tomlinson in the title role of Harrison Birtwistle’s new opera, The Minotaur, at the Royal Opera House. There’s no singer more capable of expressing such raw and painful contradictions.