I recently watched English Touring Opera’s free online performance of Shostakovich’s Michelangelo Suite. It was a stunning performance, and I emailed my congratulations to the director, James Conway, only to receive his troubling reply. He said: “Many thanks for your kind message. It has really made my day. There is so little feedback with online work, you can get the feeling that it is all for nought. Do please share with anyone you know who might be interested. I am really happy that it spoke to you; we worked on it over months.”
My plea is that we, the online audience, support our artists as they struggle to maintain a public presence. They deserve it. And we need them in these barren times.
Mick Murray
Matlock, Derbyshire
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