The Classic FM presenter and former Culture Minister David Mellor was his usual charming self in his column in this weekend's Mail on Sunday. Reviewing the Sondheim at 80 Prom, he found his enjoyment impaired by activity at the side of the stage. Or as he put it, "that distracting bloke on stage signing the performance". He is referring, of course, to Dr Paul Whittaker OBE, who had been engaged to sign the first ever Prom for the deaf.
Readers of theartsdesk will be familiar with Whittaker's work. To recap, he is the highly distinguished founder of the Music and the Deaf charity. He was awarded an OBE for his work bringing music into the lives of deaf children. Uniquely, he also is a brilliant signer of words and music despite being profoundly deaf himself. Mellor, it seems, is not a fan of his work. "If I thought any profoundly deaf people were benefitting from this," he said, "I'd be all in favour, but I bet they weren't." Oh, go on. I'll wager a fiver.
- Paul Whittaker signs Opera de Lyon's production of Porgy and Bess at the Edinburgh International Festival on Tuesday 17 August
- Music and the Deaf website
- Read theartsdesk's recommendations for the 2010 BBC Proms
- Read theartsdesk in New York: Sondheim on Sondheim on Broadway
- Listen to The Seckerson Tapes: Sondheim 80th Birthday Tribute
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