Thomas Hampson on BBC HARDtalk
This recent interview (29 July 2013) given by Thomas Hampson to Sarah Montague on BBC HARDtalk has been making the rounds on social media. Check here for the full interview (~25 minutes long). The intention of this isn't to weigh in too heavily but more just to get it out there since it's a high profile televised interview relating to opera. It's interesting regardless of how one feels about Thomas Hampson as a person or performer, or the BBC, Sarah Montague, or HARDtalk as media. It does feel as though Montague came into the interview with an agenda, whether of her own making or of the the BBC producers looking for attention. That said, in a way that gave Hampson something good to push back against. As opera lovers, performers, etc. we do have to face the fact that opera can be expensive to put on and attend, that there is a challenge bringing new, especially younger viewers in, and that it is incredibly under-attended as a whole. Without raising the debate of ...