The Critic Magazine

Hot Valks live!

● WHO SAID CLASSICAL MUSIC IS dead? Well, catch yerself on, because Serj Tankian, lead singer of Armenian-American metalheads System of a Down, is coming to park his love guns on your lawn. The guy who brought you Genocidal Humanoidz (Azerbaijanis? I didn’t check) has used lockdown to produce a “classical piano concerto”, so he has. Serj, 54, with a rueful grin, recognised the outré nature of his achievement: “I mean, who the fuck listens to 24 minutes of music as one piece today?”

Who the) has staggered over the fence, I’m sure the English National Opera will be jetting him over for the 230 minutes (relax! – it’s in three bits!) of , opening later in November.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Critic Magazine

The Critic Magazine4 min read
The Final Lap
THE SAN MARINO GRAND PRIX, 1994. THIRTY years ago this May Day. AYRTON SENNA sits on the start line and removes his helmet, which he never usually does. “The helmet hides feelings which cannot be understood,” he once said. Today, he doesn’t bother to
The Critic Magazine3 min read
Fighting Lies With Lies
PROPAGANDA AND DISINFORMATION AREamong the biggest threats facing liberal democracies today. The internet’s promise to democratise information, while partly fulfilled, has further polarised societies by nurturing ignorance and feeding conspiracy theo
The Critic Magazine4 min read
Robert Thicknesse on Opera
YOU KNOW THE STORY, BUT HERE’S a reminder: SCOTTISH WEDDING — THREE DEAD. If any operatic image can elbow out the chesty soprano snuffing it on the bed, it’s got to be the wild-eyed bride of Lammermoor in her blood-spattered wedding dress: little Luc

Related Books & Audiobooks