Alexandra Wilson
@amwilson.bsky.social
Academic | Author | Cultural commentator
Opera. Classical music. Cultural history. The state of the arts today.
Opera. Classical music. Cultural history. The state of the arts today.
Pinned
Alexandra Wilson
@amwilson.bsky.social
· Jul 11
My author copies arrived! This is my sixth book and the one of which I am most proud: a sweeping history of the British relationship with opera over the last century.
Available in 🇺🇸 this month, on Kindle immediately, and in 🇬🇧 and Europe in October.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Available in 🇺🇸 this month, on Kindle immediately, and in 🇬🇧 and Europe in October.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Local to Oxford and looking to get hold of a copy of my book? There are copies in the music department of Blackwell's. Last time they sold out within a couple of days, so catch them while you can! Thank you. 🙏
February 3, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Local to Oxford and looking to get hold of a copy of my book? There are copies in the music department of Blackwell's. Last time they sold out within a couple of days, so catch them while you can! Thank you. 🙏
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
'Rain, Covent Garden from the back of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane' (2021) by Peter Brown
peterbrownneac.com
peterbrownneac.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
'Rain, Covent Garden from the back of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane' (2021) by Peter Brown
peterbrownneac.com
peterbrownneac.com
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
'The White Lion, Covent Garden' by Rob Pointon
robpointon.co.uk
robpointon.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 7:34 AM
'The White Lion, Covent Garden' by Rob Pointon
robpointon.co.uk
robpointon.co.uk
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
The council’s questionnaire also asks “Should buskers or street entertainers be allowed to use amplification (e.g. speakers)?” The consultation is open until 17 March. consultation.oxford.gov.uk/regeneration...
February 3, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
Can you imagine a world in which publishers ran competitions for operas in a bid to discover the next great operatic talent? Well, in 1883 this is exactly what happened: the young Italian publisher Edoardo Sonzogno launched a competition for one-act operas, to which Puccini submitted Le Willis…
February 3, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Can you imagine a world in which publishers ran competitions for operas in a bid to discover the next great operatic talent? Well, in 1883 this is exactly what happened: the young Italian publisher Edoardo Sonzogno launched a competition for one-act operas, to which Puccini submitted Le Willis…
"A stirring story, packed with precious evidence of the sheer joy opera brought to people of all kinds".
SOMEONE ELSE'S MUSIC is named as one of "The best books of the week" in this weekend's Financial Times. The positive reviews keep on coming!
SOMEONE ELSE'S MUSIC is named as one of "The best books of the week" in this weekend's Financial Times. The positive reviews keep on coming!
February 1, 2026 at 1:03 PM
"A stirring story, packed with precious evidence of the sheer joy opera brought to people of all kinds".
SOMEONE ELSE'S MUSIC is named as one of "The best books of the week" in this weekend's Financial Times. The positive reviews keep on coming!
SOMEONE ELSE'S MUSIC is named as one of "The best books of the week" in this weekend's Financial Times. The positive reviews keep on coming!
This was fun!
Tonight from 6pm CET watch Episode 2 of Lives in Song: Puccini - Flora Willson and Alexandra Wilson discuss Le Willis, Puccini's first opera written when he was only 25...
It's based on the legend of the Vila: fairies from Central European mythology 🧚: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKu...
It's based on the legend of the Vila: fairies from Central European mythology 🧚: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrKu...
Lives in Song: Puccini - Le Willis (S2 Ep2 with Alexandra Wilson)
YouTube video by OperaRaraOfficial
www.youtube.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:24 PM
This was fun!
I went on a training course about all the useful things Chat GPT can do. I still haven't been tempted to log in, or been persuaded that it can do anything better than I can do it myself. To ask it to write for me, when writing is my line of work, would clearly be ethically wrong.
Free AI training to be offered to every adult in the UK
Free AI training to be offered to every adult in the UK
Free AI training to be offered to every adult in the UK
www.independent.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 11:59 AM
I went on a training course about all the useful things Chat GPT can do. I still haven't been tempted to log in, or been persuaded that it can do anything better than I can do it myself. To ask it to write for me, when writing is my line of work, would clearly be ethically wrong.
While Amazon restocks (which hopefully won't be nearly as long as the website currently says), the best place to get hold of the book is to order it via Waterstones, to go to OUP direct or to ask your local independent how long it would take for OUP to supply it.
"Someone Else’s Music: Opera and the British is a readable, formidably-researched counterblast to the myth (in Britain, anyway) of opera as an ‘elitist’ art form. It should leave philistines of all political persuasions feeling very uncomfortable indeed".
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Books of the Year 2025
Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2025.
engelsbergideas.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:51 AM
While Amazon restocks (which hopefully won't be nearly as long as the website currently says), the best place to get hold of the book is to order it via Waterstones, to go to OUP direct or to ask your local independent how long it would take for OUP to supply it.
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
"Someone Else’s Music: Opera and the British is a readable, formidably-researched counterblast to the myth (in Britain, anyway) of opera as an ‘elitist’ art form. It should leave philistines of all political persuasions feeling very uncomfortable indeed".
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Books of the Year 2025
Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2025.
engelsbergideas.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"Someone Else’s Music: Opera and the British is a readable, formidably-researched counterblast to the myth (in Britain, anyway) of opera as an ‘elitist’ art form. It should leave philistines of all political persuasions feeling very uncomfortable indeed".
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Better, but still deeply unimaginative architecture. And the eyesore at the far left of the shot needs dealing with too.
Detailed plans have been submitted for Oxford University’s new building between Wellington Square and Little Clarendon Street. It will replace the 1970s concrete building which is largely empty except for the Common Ground cafe and events space on the ground floor.
January 15, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Better, but still deeply unimaginative architecture. And the eyesore at the far left of the shot needs dealing with too.
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
I can see someone sent me a direct message but I can't open it. Unfortunately DMs on here require you to verify your age and the email says I have to send a photo of my face or a scan of my credit card. I don't want to do either, so am locked out of DMs here. Please contact me another way.
January 11, 2026 at 4:08 PM
I can see someone sent me a direct message but I can't open it. Unfortunately DMs on here require you to verify your age and the email says I have to send a photo of my face or a scan of my credit card. I don't want to do either, so am locked out of DMs here. Please contact me another way.
@scribnerbooks.bsky.social Please can you advise me on how to get hold of a review copy of Caitlin Vincent's Opera Wars, please? I have tried to contact you via X and also Simon and Schuster via email but haven't received a reply. It's a commission for Engelsberg Ideas.
January 11, 2026 at 1:59 PM
@scribnerbooks.bsky.social Please can you advise me on how to get hold of a review copy of Caitlin Vincent's Opera Wars, please? I have tried to contact you via X and also Simon and Schuster via email but haven't received a reply. It's a commission for Engelsberg Ideas.
"Someone Else’s Music: Opera and the British is a readable, formidably-researched counterblast to the myth (in Britain, anyway) of opera as an ‘elitist’ art form. It should leave philistines of all political persuasions feeling very uncomfortable indeed".
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Books of the Year 2025
Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2025.
engelsbergideas.com
December 29, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"Someone Else’s Music: Opera and the British is a readable, formidably-researched counterblast to the myth (in Britain, anyway) of opera as an ‘elitist’ art form. It should leave philistines of all political persuasions feeling very uncomfortable indeed".
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
'Penguins listening to the Gramophone during the summer, 1908 - 1909'
December 28, 2025 at 9:42 AM
'Penguins listening to the Gramophone during the summer, 1908 - 1909'
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
The most adorable chess piece ever!
A knight, made of antler.
Dating 11/12th century
Found at the Burgstein, Lichtenstein-Holzelfingen.
📷 me
#archaeology
A knight, made of antler.
Dating 11/12th century
Found at the Burgstein, Lichtenstein-Holzelfingen.
📷 me
#archaeology
December 28, 2025 at 10:23 AM
The most adorable chess piece ever!
A knight, made of antler.
Dating 11/12th century
Found at the Burgstein, Lichtenstein-Holzelfingen.
📷 me
#archaeology
A knight, made of antler.
Dating 11/12th century
Found at the Burgstein, Lichtenstein-Holzelfingen.
📷 me
#archaeology
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
Flowers and angels at @elycathedral.bsky.social. 📷 #photography
December 24, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Flowers and angels at @elycathedral.bsky.social. 📷 #photography
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2025.
Books of the Year 2025 | Engelsberg Ideas
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Books of the Year 2025 | Engelsberg Ideas
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Books of the Year 2025
Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2025.
engelsbergideas.com
December 23, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Contributors to Engelsberg Ideas highlight the books they’ve enjoyed in 2025.
Books of the Year 2025 | Engelsberg Ideas
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Books of the Year 2025 | Engelsberg Ideas
engelsbergideas.com/reviews/book...
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Seems like it's worth posting this one again.
Why Do Historians Still Have To Go To Archives?
Why do historians go to archives? Hasn’t everything already been digitized?
contingentmagazine.org
December 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.
Reposted by Alexandra Wilson
The study 'also found that AI-related water use now exceeds the entirety of global bottled-water demand.'
December 19, 2025 at 8:23 AM
The study 'also found that AI-related water use now exceeds the entirety of global bottled-water demand.'
‘Terrific’ (FT)
‘Splendid’ (The Spectator)
‘Brilliant’ (The Guardian)
'Illuminating' (New Statesman)
'Timely and provocative' (Opera)
Make Someone Else's Music your Christmas reading!
‘Splendid’ (The Spectator)
‘Brilliant’ (The Guardian)
'Illuminating' (New Statesman)
'Timely and provocative' (Opera)
Make Someone Else's Music your Christmas reading!
December 19, 2025 at 8:24 AM
‘Terrific’ (FT)
‘Splendid’ (The Spectator)
‘Brilliant’ (The Guardian)
'Illuminating' (New Statesman)
'Timely and provocative' (Opera)
Make Someone Else's Music your Christmas reading!
‘Splendid’ (The Spectator)
‘Brilliant’ (The Guardian)
'Illuminating' (New Statesman)
'Timely and provocative' (Opera)
Make Someone Else's Music your Christmas reading!