This is the opening to my essay on the forgotten relationship between opera and the working class, published in the Observer on 12 October 2025. You can read the full version in the Observer. “Opera and ballet will be at the heart of the culture of many people who live in London and the south of England”, former Conservative minister Jake Berry (now a member of Reform UK) once told parliament. “But for many of us in the north it is […]

Categories: Britain, Class, Culture & Books • Tags: a people's history of classics, alexandra wilson, artistic relevance, edith hall, elitism, henry stead, jonathan rose, lilian baylis, opera, robert morgan, sadler's wells, san carlo opera company, someone else's music, the intellectual history of the british working classes, working class, working class autodidacts, working class culture