“In cinema you are a spectator; in opera you are present. I’m fascinated by the notion that we witness in opera: we have to endure.”

Ranging from Ancient Greece to The Godfather, and focusing on the operas of Puccini and Verdi, renowned art historian Professor Griselda Pollock discusses how violence is represented in painting, sculpture, film and literature, how it is performed in opera, and its implications.

Produced as part of the DARE partnership between Opera North and the University of Leed