Jessica Duchen
British music writer, novelist, playwright and opera librettist; critic and correspondent for The Independent from 2004 to 2016.
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What they believe
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Many of the controversial subversions in the Royal Opera House’s 2026 Parsifal make sense with the opera’s libretto.
many of the subversions to which some viewers have taken exception make absolute sense with the opera’s libretto.
jessicaduchen.substack.comSaid 15 Oct 2026This on korrents
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Music critics are music-lovers and writers, not bitter failed musicians out to destroy young talent.
No! We are music-lovers and writers. We love writing about music and musicians.
jessicaduchen.substack.comSaid 11 Oct 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 7 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Many of the controversial subversions in the Royal Opera House’s 2026 Parsifal make sense with the opera’s libretto.
many of the subversions to which some viewers have taken exception make absolute sense with the opera’s libretto.
Faith, doubt and Wagner Said 15 Oct 2026
Opera directors should stop using AI imagery in their stagings.
please, please, stop using AI, dear directors?
Faith, doubt and Wagner Said 15 Oct 2026
Music critics are music-lovers and writers, not bitter failed musicians out to destroy young talent.
No! We are music-lovers and writers. We love writing about music and musicians.
Not the Gramophone Awards! Said 11 Oct 2026
Show 4 more
The 2026 Last Night of the Proms was too long and could have lost 25 minutes without anyone minding.
They could have lost 25 minutes at a stroke and probably nobody would have a) minded, b) noticed.
I went to the Last Night of the Proms Said 13 Sept 2026
Accusations that critics, editors and programmers are ‘gatekeepers’ often stem from insecurity or paranoia.
Wild accusations of gatekeeperdom are sometimes levelled against critics, editors, producers, programmers or other decision-makers whose job it is to decide how best to use limited budget and capacity; such charges are frequently leavened with insecurity at best, or paranoia at worst.
In praise of music’s real gatekeepers Said 9 Sept 2026
The real gatekeepers in music life are rule enforcers at actual doors, not decision makers.
They stand at actual gates, and they keep them. They are rule enforcers, not decision makers, and they do not appear to consider the specifics of a situation.
In praise of music’s real gatekeepers Said 9 Sept 2026
Anybody given a tiny degree of power can wield it without rational thought.
anybody, given a tiny degree of power, can assert it with or without rational thought.
In praise of music’s real gatekeepers Said 9 Sept 2026
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Where they publish
Newsletter Twangle: Music and Words, with Jessica Duchen Writing on classical music, opera and books
Open jessicaduchen.substack.com
Link verified 1 Nov 2026.
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