[Daily Telegraph, 24 September 2005]

Andrew O'Hagan on why opera is not the kind of drama he can believe in when set in a modern context

The heart lifts whenever the great opera houses try their hands at something modern. But why does it lift? Why are we so married to the notion that the arts must go forward? We are always scampering after something new and progressive, perhaps to feel refreshed, perhaps to see our own time's reflection, but the classic operas require no updating.