Erwin Schrott as Méphistophélès, photograph by Tristram Kenton
Hell has no Limits
Faust, opera in five acts, music by Charles-François Gounod, libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, conducted by Dan Ettinger, director David McVicar, 5th revival of the 2004 production, Royal Opera, Thursday 11th April 2019, reviewed by Leslie Jones
When Charles-François Gounod died in 1893, Faust had already been performed a thousand times. It is not hard to see why. Exquisitely orchestrated, with echoes of his protégé George Bizet’s Symphony in C (composed when the latter was only seventeen), there are compelling and beautiful arias, such as Salut! Demeure chaste et pure (Hail! Chaste and fair abode). Moreover, Faust addresses universal themes. “Who”, as one critic sagely remarked, “doesn’t long to be young again?” (lyricopera.org). Faust, a world-weary scholar, depicted by the American tenor Michael Fabiano as a doddering old man, feels that he has learnt nothing and has needlessly forgone opportunities for love. “Maudit soit le bonheur, maudites la science, la priere et la foi”, he exclaims (Cursed be happiness, science, prayer and faith). He damns everything that ties people to life – sex, youth, the beauty of nature and the thirst for knowledge. Continue reading
Detention Deficit Disorder
Van Gogh, Round of the Prisoners
Detention Deficit Disorder
by Bill Hartley
In 2016, I wrote an article about detention centres. This was prompted by Operation Seabrook, Durham Constabulary’s investigation into allegations of abuse at Medomsley, the former detention centre in County Durham which closed in 1988. Seabrook grew to be the country’s largest investigation into sexual abuse. The story began back in 2003 when a man called Neville Husband who once ran the kitchen at Medomsley was convicted of serious sexual assaults of teenage detainees. It is claimed that some staff at Medomsley were aware of his activities but failed to report this believing that he enjoyed the support of senior management. He might have been stopped sooner; a former detainee tried to complain to Durham police but was sent packing. Husband received a long prison sentence and has since died. Seabrook illustrates how the police moved from a point where the authorities ignored allegations of abuse to a situation where any such complaint is assumed to be true and they are dealing with a ‘victim’.
Detention centres were tough places, dedicated to the ‘short sharp shock’ approach. Politicians were active in encouraging this. The theory was that a brisk activity based regime would deter young people from crime, since they wouldn’t wish to come back for a second helping. To run this kind of regime required strong and visible leadership to make sure that firmness didn’t spill over into what we now describe as abuse. Unfortunately DCs, to use the Prison Service term, were something of a backwater, often a place to post individuals who were close to retirement. Ambitious governors didn’t want to go to such places. Medomsley appears to have been a good example of an institution which didn’t get the leadership it deserved. Given its size (holding around 70 detainees), a reasonably energetic person could easily see every detainee and member of staff in the course of a typical week. Many governors of larger institutions used this high visibility approach, since in those days there were fewer demands on their time. Suffice to say for the present that the Medomsley regime at times went beyond robust. This is always the danger; the bully will prosper when there is little risk of getting caught. Continue reading →
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