Monday, March 26, 2007

Sexual Orientation Regulations (2)

The full debate in the House of Lords is now available in Hansard (accessible via the House of Lords website). Here is what I thought was the most impressive speech.
Baroness Howarth of Breckland: My Lords, I speak without a prepared speech but with a heavy heart. As a Christian woman, I find this an extraordinarily difficult and distressing debate. It is distressing because we are not really prepared to face the fundamental issue. I have listened to speeches in which noble Lords have said, “We respect gay people, but...”. The issue is not about rights; if it were, we would not be having this debate. It is about whether noble Lords accept gay people as equal human beings.

Two hundred years ago, William Wilberforce made a speech in Parliament that freed black people to be equal human beings. I hope that this evening your Lordships will vote for these regulations. I have some quarrel with the way in which the regulations have been brought forward, but I hope that noble Lords will vote to underline that gay people are equal human beings with others.

I say this as a Christian woman. I have listened to the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York, and I listened to the Catholic archbishop on the radio this morning, a very dear and wonderful man. He was struggling because he was trying hard not to appear prejudiced, but he was saying two things. Those noble Lords who are this evening saying two things are breaking their principles. If a Catholic organisation says, “Our principles do not allow us to place a child with a homosexual couple, but we are prepared to send it somewhere else for someone else to do it”, where is the underlying principle? Why will that organisation not do it but allow someone else to if it believes that that child will not have an appropriate home?

I have spent most of my life working in social care, a good deal of it worrying about the protection of children. In adoption, there is one principle and one principle only—the needs of the child are paramount. Whatever the family, whatever their colour, creed or sexual orientation, they have no right to the child. The child has the right to the home. Any good adoption agency will spend its time making that assessment. However, an adoption agency may decide that it will not place some children because it does not like the placement that it has found. For example, I know two male nurses in Scotland who are both gay. They were working with a youngster in a wheelchair who is extraordinarily disabled and extraordinarily difficult. Had they not given that child a home, he would have spent his life in an institution. That is true of many of the children to whom gay couples give homes. These are not easy children. We are not talking about handing babies to a couple of gay men—not that I think that there is anything wrong with that. I know gay male couples who have given extraordinarily good homes to children. But any adoption agency is likely to place a child with a family where there is a mother and a father. If there is not such a family and there is a good homosexual couple available who can give the child a home—the alternative being an institution—I would hope that the agency would place the child with them.

For many years, I was the chief executive of Childline. During the time of Section 28, not because I had any interest in it, I looked at some of the issues around bullying. We talked to teachers about homophobic bullying. Since the removal of Section 28, I have found no problems of schools being told that they have to give education about gay rights. My experience was of teachers terrified of intervening on behalf of children who were being seriously bullied for being gay, because they thought that Section 28 meant that they would be in deep trouble. The converse is true: removing these kinds of statutes helps children. I do not for a moment think that governors—never mind the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, and his department—will allow the curriculum to be changed in order to accommodate issues that most are very careful about. I am talking about the whole spectrum of sexual education, which the noble Baroness, Lady Massey, knows so well.

As a Christian, I am deeply concerned. Christ told the story of the good Samaritan, who was an outcast; many gay people feel outcast. Returning to the beginning of my speech—which, I suppose, is not a speech—I say that this issue is about believing that homosexual people are equal. They are not remote sinners doing something that you may find difficult to face, but real people, who are prepared to contribute to society, to give good homes to children, to teach in our school and to live, on the whole, discreetly and kindly, and who deserve access to goods and services. Of course, children are not goods, but we are talking, in legislation, about access to services. Gay people deserve that as much as any of us, just as Wilberforce said that every black person deserved equal treatment. I commend the regulations to the House.
And here is a speech made by the Prime Minister a few nights later.
Tony Blair: It is a real honour to be here this evening at the Stonewall Equality dinner, and to say thank you to Ben for that kind introduction.
Just before I came here tonight - this is a sad reflection of type of thing you do towards the end of your time in office - I got out one of my old speeches and re-read it. It was a speech back in 1994, when, I think it was on an amendment by Edwina Currie and Neil Kinnock, interestingly enough, it wasn’t a combination that was often found. They had come together to move an amendment on equality on the age of consent. The thing that really struck me, re-reading the speech this evening, was just how a whole lot of things that nowadays we would more or less take for granted. you had to start literally with the very, very first principles. including arguments like: “how do you stop people being persuaded to be gay?”
The interesting thing is that you then fast-forward to last night in the House of Lords, and the fact is the vote was won, which is an incredible thing.
And I really just wanted to say two things about the changes that have happened over the past ten years, which you will know very well. There are a lot of important things, but I think civil partnerships is really the thing … as I was saying to people earlier, it doesn’t just give you a lot of pride, but it actually brought real joy. I don’t know whether you remember the very first day, and it was quite a bizarre circumstance that the first ceremonies were actually in Northern Ireland. I was so struck by it, it was so alive, I remember actually seeing the pictures on television. It is not often that you sort of skip around in my job, I can assure you, But it really the fact that that the people were so happy and the fact that you felt just one major, major change had happened, of which everyone can feel really proud. And now I think we were just saying, was it 16,000 civil partnerships, and what is interesting now is that other countries in Europe are looking at this legislation, and it is very divisive still in Spain and Italy at the moment. But nonetheless it is happening.

This is my second reflection about it all. There are a whole load of different pieces of legislation, which I will not rehearse here, but what has happened is that the culture of the country has changed in a definable way as a result of it. And here is what I think is really interesting. The change in the culture and the civilising effect of it has gone far greater than the gay and lesbian community. In other words, by taking a stand on these issues and by removing prejudice and discrimination, and by enabling people to stand proud as what they are, it has had an impact that I think is far more profound in the way the country thinks about itself.

And I want to say we have an immensely proud history, that is able to stand on its own merits in the 21st Century and say that we know we have a great future. One thing I think is very important for any country that is to succeed in the future you make the most of the talents and abilities of your people. If you allow discrimination to fester, that is a complete rejection of that modernising and civilising notion. That is what is really important and it is why as the day approaches that certainly I will look back on with a lot of pride.

However there is one final thing I wanted to say to you and it is this. Some people this evening have been very kind and said that it took a certain amount of political courage. Well yes it did, but you know I remember back in the early ‘80s when this type of issue was condemned as political correctness, when this was the loony-left, as it were, engaged in this. Stonewall, in my view, played a fundamental and often insufficiently recognised part in achieving this. I want to tell you why. When you are trying to do something that is difficult, divisive and when, as a politician, you do something that you know is going to be controversial … it is all very well saying well I want to do this and you can see some of you people are up for it and some of them are thinking “well, hmm”… What actually matters enormously is that the people from outside politics that you are trying to do it with have a sufficient intelligence and sensitivity, which I think has really defined the Stonewall campaign, I define it as a polite determination. In other words, a complete push and drive to get the thing done, but also a way of doing it that is always looking to bring people onside, that is always looking to understand sensitivities, that is always willing to say, "look, this is something we would like to help get done with you in a sensible and intelligent way." What Stonewall did, and Angela Mason, who I thought was absolutely fantastic when she was the Head, and now Ben what they did was remarkable and it is a real tribute.

And here we are this evening at the Stonewall Equality dinner, and a lot of the tables are from some of the best-known names in business and commerce, and this is part of the diversity agenda now of these big companies. Now everyone is entirely in favour of this. There is a greater competition for the so-called gay and lesbian vote. This is a fantastic thing that all the party leaders today, and in the future actually all of them will be, I think, in favour of equality. That is a sign of how much things have changed and actually we should not be worried about that, we should actually be proud of it. It is a great achievement for our country.

I just wanted to say this evening how deeply grateful I am for the invitation to come along and be here tonight with you at the Stonewall Equality dinner. I would like to thank each and every one of you for helping in what will be an important signal that you are part of the mainstream of our society today, and that progress does actually come about because people are determined. Thank you to you because we could not have done it without you and I do look back on it with pride and I wanted to share that with you.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Weekend at The Sage

Two concerts took me to The Sage this weekend: both of very high quality.
Friday evening was a Sinfonia night, conducted by Thierry Fischer. The opening work was new to me: Debussy's "La demoiselle elue". A work for soprano and mezzo soprano soloists, female chorus and orchestra, it is based on Rossetti's "The Blessed Damozel". It proved to be lovely sensuous music - similar in style to "Pelleas et Melisande" but, mercifully, much shorter.
This was followed by Ravel's "Mother Goose". I found this went on a bit and a lot of it seemed to go at much the same speed and sound very much the same.
After the interval came Stravinsky's Symphonies of wind instruments. I must admit to a bit of a nostalgic soft spot for this piece: it was the first piece I ever heard live at the Proms, conducted by Pierre Boulez in 1971! Even putting nostalgia aside, I still rate it as one of the minor classics of the twentieth century.
The concert was completed by Poulenc's brilliant Gloria. This exstatic music brought brilliant playing from the orchestra, a wonderful contribution from soprano soloist Christine Buffle and excellent singing from the Sinfonia Chorus, not only firm of tone but also with commendable clarity of diction.
This morning brought the last of the current season of BBC Sunday Morning Concerts devoted to Radio 3's New Generation Artists. This morning it was 26 year old pianist Eduard Kunz. He started with two Bach pieces, the playing notable particularly for his tasteful dynamic shading. This was followed by Ravel's extravagant and exotic showpiece "Gaspard de la nuit". The recital ended with Liszt's Paganini Etude.
I have managed three out of four of this BBC series: each one has been highly enjoyable and each has been better than the one before. This last in the series was breath-taking.

The Tempest at Covent Garden

I saw Thomas Ades's opera when it was new three years ago and was sufficiently impressed to want to see it again. I think I enjoyed it even more this time.
The musical style is modern but often lyrical (more Britten than Boulez). There is some extraordinary writing for the high soprano part of Ariel (think Queen of the Night, think Zerbinetta and then some). There are also some wonderful set pieces including a fine love duet for Miranda and Ferdinand to end Act II and a stunning quintet at the end of the opera.
Criticisms of the work? Apart from one or two memorable lines, the librettist Meredith Oakes eschews Shakespeare's language. Mostly this works pretty well, although the constant rhyming couplets do sound a bit twee. I also found some of the orchestral accompaniments a bit fussy and over-complex, particularly in the first act. But make no mistake, this is a fine work from a major talent and is in every sense a 'proper' opera.
The cast was led by Simon Keenlyside as Prospero. The part is not an easy one, taking the singer to both extremes of his vocal range but Keenlyside carried it off with vocal aplomb - at times sounding almost like a Wotan in waiting.
Cyndia Sieden has made the part of Ariel completely her own and this was another virtuoso performance. As well as all the high vocal fireworks she also sang a beautiful line in her more gentle solo.
Ian Bostridge is not one of my favourite singers but in Caliban Ades has created a role that suits his rather odd vocal style and stage appearance very well.
Other parts were taken by such distinguished singers as Philip Langridge and Jonathan Summers. The only weak link was Donald Kaasch as the 'baddy' Antonio - he had a tendency to shout.
The young lovers were played by Toby Spence and Kate Royal who both looked gorgeous and sang ravishingly: their duet was one of the highlights of the evening.
Ades himself conducted and the orchestra played superbly.
The production was by Tom Cairns. A basically simple set was used to imaginative effect and there was much scope for Prospero's magic (the imprisonment of Ferdinand, the magical banquet made inaccessible by fire).
A brilliant evening and a delight to see that high quality new opera can be produced in the twenty first century.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Sexual Orientation Regulations

I watched a substantial part of the debate in the House of Lords (on the parliamentary website).

The debate was of a high standard and conducted generally very politely. Lord Lester got a bit of barracking but that because he was going on a bit.

It should be noted that the main support for the 'wrecking' amendment came from those who asked for more time for reflection or consideration of the details. There was very little outright opposition to the principle of the regulations.

There were powerful speeches in favour of the regulations from Lord Smith and Lord Alli. The latter made the point that the demonstrations from the Religious Right outside Parliament appeared to have children as young as six holding placards of homophobic abuse - thus confirming the need for the regulations.

Perhaps the most persuasive speech came from Lady Howarth who, speaking as a Christian woman, said that she found nothing incompatible with her Christan faith in the regulations but rather that the regulations were entirely consistent with Christian principles.

The wrecking amendment was defeated by 168-122. And in that vote it must be remembered that most of those supporting the amendment were merely asking for more time for reflection.

The Regulations were then approved without a division.

The House of Commons had earlier approved the regulations by 310-100 - and again a lot of the anti votes were people merely unhappy with the procedure.

Parliament has spoken - and has spoken to accept gay people with respect compassion and sensitivity and to avoid every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Christianne Stotijn - a Name to Watch

The BBC Sunday Morning Concert at the Sage featured the young Dutch mezzo soprano Christianne Stotijn. She is a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. She sang songs by Schubert, Brahms, Mahler and Pfitzner. The last seems to be something of a project of her and accompanist Joseph Breinl.

The voice is attractive rather than beautiful and without a particularly individual sound. The singing, however, was of high quality. There was evenness of tone, considerable power when needed, but also controlled and sustained soft singing. Stotijn's German diction was excellent and she revealed a wide range of tone colour to give life to the varying songs.

This was a hugely enjoyable short recital, warmly received by the audience. Stotijn makes her Covent Garden debut next season (in Janacek). I expect to hear much more of her.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Opera North's "Elixir of Love"

This was a delightful evening at Newcastle's Theatre Royal: Opera North really bringing Donizetti's charming masterpiece to life, albeit sung in English.
The production, by Daniel Slater, updates the story to about 1960, the time of "La Dolce Vita" in Italy. It is highly colourful, with particularly wonderful costumes for the women. Belcore makes his entry on a motor scooter and Dulcamara in a hot air balloon! Nemorino is a waiter at the local cappucino cafe. It all works wonderfully well with each chorus member creating a distinctive character from the local community in an Italian riviera town. A comic highlight was the drunken hen night chorus at the beginning of Act II - just the right side of slapstick.
A notable debutant with Opera North was Andrew Kennedy as Nemorino. This young tenor has been on the Royal Opera House's Young Artist's Programme, is a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and won the lieder prize at the Cardiff "Singer of the World" competition in 2005. He sang extremely well with some lovely soft singing and noticeable coloratura skills. All that was lacking was a bit of Mediterranean warmth to the voice. More an Albert Herring than a Nemorino perhaps? He also had a tendency to over-act - particularly in the First Act.
The Adina was the Swedish soprano Anna Ryberg. A small voice, she had all the notes including some good high ones. She wore the Dolce Vita costumes with confidence and looked gorgeous.
Peter Savidge was not the most vocally splendid Dulcamara but he presented a wonderful stage character. As did Susanna Andersson, who also sang very well as Giannetta.
Not such a good night on the conducting front. Tecwyn Evans's accompaniment was often too loud and was generally heavy handed, revealing little understanding of bel canto style.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Cavalli in Munich

The second opera in my recent visit to Munich was Cavalli’s “La Calisto”, again at the Staatsoper. I am not a great lover of early opera and find Cavalli’s musical style rather monotonous. There is no chorus, very few arias and most of the music consists of long passages of accompanied recitative. I managed to keep my interest alive for the first act but it sagged during the second half.

There was much to admire in the performance. The production, by David Alden, was light, colourful and witty. There were many ‘modern’ touches in it but they were there to clarify or amplify the story rather than to get in its way. Musical direction was in the experienced hands of Ivor Bolton with a small instrumental group on a specially raised platform in the middle of the orchestra pit.

The singing ranged from good to excellent. I expected memorable performances from Veronique Gens (as Giunone) and the noted character counter tenor Dominque Visse (as the satyr Satirino). The vocal discoveries for me were the counter tenor Lawrence Zazzo (as Endimione), revealing a beautiful soft-grained voice but which carried well into a large theatre and Sally Matthews, who sang the title role. She has a warm lyric soprano and I note that she is not only a former ROH Young Artist but also a former winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Prize.

Despite getting a bit bored in the second half, this was an enjoyable evening and it received a rapturous reception from a capacity audience.

In between the two operas I went to a concert of Schumann and Beethoven given in the Gasteig by the Munich Philharmonic under their Music Director Christian Thielemann. Schumann’s cello concerto was played by the young German cellist Johannes Moser, who gave us also a Bach sarabande as an encore. The Beethoven was his seventh symphony and what a thrill to hear it played with such verve by a full symphony orchestra: sixteen first violins and eight double basses!

Finally I am happy to report that the beer in Munich is as good as ever and the Ludwig Beck department store on Marienplatz still has its huge CD section on the fourth floor.