Worthy farewell

Franco Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac may not be a masterpiece, though I would claim that it is a first-rate second-rate work, to use a handy taxonomy of Richard Strauss.

Franco Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac may not be a masterpiece, though I would claim that it is a first-rate second-rate work, to use a handy taxonomy of Richard Strauss. Yet the altogether superb production of it which the Royal Opera has mounted jointly with the Met has been received with very ill grace. It seems that no Italian composer of the early part of the 20th century can hope for a fair hearing, with even Puccini being tolerated only because it would be absurd to write off a figure so popular.

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Rupert Darwall

Labour has walked into a net-zero trap of its own making

Any Italian opera written in the 18th or the first three quarters of the 19th century is assured of a respectful hearing, or more, and a critical edition executed by prestigious academics.