Pensar y cantar

The renowned tenor Ian Bostridge spent nearly two years unable to perform on stage due to the pandemic—an experience that led him to reflect on the indispensable value of direct contact with the audience, while also allowing him to delve deeper into the vast repertoire of classics he has performed throughout his career. Through lucid and compelling prose, Bostridge explores how Monteverdi, Schumann, and Britten employed and subverted gender roles in their compositions; questions colonial hierarchy and power in Ravel’s Chansons madécasses; and analyzes Britten’s meditations on death in works such as the War Requiem and Death in Venice. Bostridge’s unique insights offer us an understanding of the astonishing intensity of his performances, in which the singular fusion of melody and thought yields genuine epiphanies for both the singer and his audience.