Mark Valencia
Bio
Mark has worked in arts journalism for more than thirty years, initially as a broadcaster; then in print and later online as a writer and translator for magazines, record companies and arts websites. Mark's background is in education - teaching drama and directing. His passion for music and theatre in all their forms has led him to collaborate with a number of composers on lyrics and librettos.
latest in today
It’s three typical cat-lives since Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn staged TS Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats as a musical.…
Poor Oberon! An opera scorned so long as weird and silly,A mash-up of outlandish tales all chucked in willy-nilly.Now brave Sir Mark (…
Comparatively speaking, Rotherham appears in the news more than most British towns of an equivalent size. And much of that news is not good…
Last night's BBC Prom was a celebration – of 40 years since the release of Paul Simon’s triumphant album Graceland in August 1986. Before…
Spanning a hundred years, the Dulwich Picture Gallery's show of American photography is a twofold delight. Most of the great names are…
VINYL OF THE MONTHJohn R Miller The Great Unknowing (Rounder)
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John R Miller’s…
There’s an incendiary one-woman monologue to be had from Christine Lahti’s 2018 book about the misogyny of her upbringing, but The Smile of…
There is something quietly reassuring to me about hearing a record that knows exactly what it wants to be. Wales-born duo Overmono's latest…
Last night’s Prom saw two beloved favourites – Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony – prefaced by a fairly unknown…
Camp Bestival 2026, Lulworth Castle review - where the daytime magic still outshines everything else
A few years ago, Camp Bestival felt like a charming, quietly eccentric affair, fairly small in the best sense, especially set beside the…