Spectator mourns opera critic

The Cambridge scholar Michael Tanner has died at the age of 89. He began reviewing opera for the Spectator in 1966.

Sorry to report that Michael Tanner has died – great friend, great mind, great critic. Final time I went to see him in hospital last week he told me off for reading Bergson and started dreaming of Simon Keenlyside singing Pelleas

— Igor Toronyi-Lalic (@igortoronyi) April 3, 2024

Tanner was a lecturer in philosophy and a life fellow of Corpus Christie College. His books include short guides to Nietzsche and Wagner.

Having invited him to talk about Beethoven 9, he rocked up in a bomber jacket, without notes, and gave a 30 minute analysis of Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus that held the audience gripped. Afterwards we stood for so long in New St, talking Wagner, that he nearly missed his train. https://t.co/b3gYPlOjBZ

— Richard Bratby (@RichardBratby) April 4, 2024

Obituary here.