Author: Matthew Westphal

Looking For Justice In The Book Of Job

Joan Acocella: “God boasts to Satan, Have you seen my servant Job, so pious, so devoted to me? Satan answers, Why shouldn’t he be devoted? You have given him everything he could ever want: ‘But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.’ Well, God says, let’s see, and he gives Satan permission to ruin Job’s life.”

Amy Tan On Writing “Microscopically”

“I’ve found that the way to capture the truth of a character – and beyond that, to reflect the truth of how I feel – is to write microscopically. To focus on all the tiny details that, together, make sense of character. Each person’s perspective is absolutely unique; my job is to unearth all the specific events and associations that form an individual consciousness.”

What’s The Point Of Doing Opera In Pubs? (Asks A Big-Newspaper Critic)

Rupert Christiansen: “[These] efforts draw small but loyal audiences, usually very appreciative, and you might say at the very worst, that no harm is done. But for the critic these pop-up performances pose a quandary: how can one balance one’s desire to pat honest endeavour on the back with the sacred imperative of rigorously honest and unsentimental judgment?”

Of Course There’s A Point To Small-Room Opera! (Says A Pub-Opera Company Director)

Robin Norton-Hale of OperaUpClose: “Theatre critics don’t tie themselves in knots trying to find a way to compare a production at the (rightly) well-funded RSC or National Theatre to one at … the Edinburgh Fringe. Each performance is judged on its own merits. … Far from being a poorer experience, I would argue that seeing a smaller-scale opera is simply a different one.”