Concluding the series in which
Rodney Milnes looks at same-sex relationships in opera.
Breaking Cover. After the Oscar Wilde scandal, homosexuality became something definable, something that could be categorised - though some would say it was often categorised in narrow, physical terms rather than being understood in a wider emotional context. Either way, in the 20th century homosexual feeling became a subject to be treated openly, even in opera - sometimes seriously, sometimes in terms of camp stereotypes. Featuring music by Strauss, Britten, Janacek and Walton.