PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS: 
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
Rodney Milnes
Verdi says as much as Wagner about the impossibility of power and love, but in a quarter of the time and with real tunes. - Rodney Milnes
Rodney Milnes' authoritative seven-page introduction to Massenet is worth the price of this CD on its own. - Howard Smith
English opera critic, musicologist, writer, translator and broadcaster Rodney Milnes was born in Stafford on 26 July 1936. He studied history at Oxford and then worked in publishing.
He was opera critic for various publications: Harpers and Queen (1970-90), The Spectator (1988-90), The Evening Standard (1990-92), and was then chief opera critic at The Times from 1992 until 2002.
He began writing for Opera magazine in 1971, became associate editor in 1976, deputy editor in 1984 and worked as editor from 1986 until 1999.
He also made English translations of various operas (under his original name, Rodney Milnes Blumer), contributed to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, was consultant editor for the Viking Opera Guide and broadcast for BBC radio, including BBC Radio 3's Record Review.
Rodney Milnes died in Gloucestershire on 4 December 2015, aged seventy-nine.