Features & Interviews
Bill Viola (1951-2024) - a personal tribute
Wednesday, 17 July 2024![Bill Viola](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/first_and_second_tier/public/mastimages/Bill%20Viola_0.jpg?itok=VvR7AK_R)
The artist Bill Viola died, after a long illness, early in the morning of Friday 12 July. I had the privilege of getting to know him while making a documentary about his life and work in 2001-2003. He quickly became a friend, as did his wife Kira and his sons, Blake and and Andrei. He felt like a kind of brother, who’d grown up through the same changes that shook culture up in the 1960s and 70s. Although he was American, I felt that we spoke the same language.
First Person: trans opera singer Lucia Lucas on Tippett’s 'New Year' and her life in music
Tuesday, 16 July 2024![Lucia Lucas outside The Dream Tent in Birmingham](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/first_and_second_tier/public/mastimages/AF_053_New_Year_Cast_%26_Rehearsal_BOC.jpg?itok=n9jI2cJ2)
Until last week, Tippett’s New Year had not been staged since 1990, probably because it’s considered very hard to produce. I think it is generally harder than Britten. It’s also an ensemble piece; you need 10 people who are fairly accomplished in performing new works.
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