Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Opera to open despite row over gay role

Rob Sharp,Sarah Morrison
Thursday 07 July 2011 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Opera North has undertaken a dramatic U-turn over the staging of a controversial opera after accusations of homophobia.

The company issued a statement yesterday saying it was going ahead with Beached, a new opera by Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall, after Hall attacked the company for "discrimination" claiming his production was shelved because he would not remove a gay character. There was widespread condemnation of the cancellation.

However Opera North claimed it was cancelling the production because it had lost the participation of a nearby school, Bay Primary. The company had also criticised the opera's "references to drug-taking, sexual conduct and the use of homophobic name-calling". The production will now begin on 16 July.

It was reported yesterday that in a concession to Opera North and the school's concerns, a lyric had been changed from "Of course I'm queer" to "Of course I'm gay".

Mr Hall said: "I'm delighted that the school and Opera North have seen sense. It is a real victory for collective action. I could never have achieved this on my own; it was cancelled until everyone expressed indignation against discrimination."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in