In Conversation 2MBS Fine Music Sydney

A conductor who has established an outstanding reputation for a charismatic stage presence and powerful interpretations of an extensive repertoire, Dr Nicholas Milton has conducted orchestras across Europe and Australia. He has over 60 albums to his name as both a conductor and as a violinist, and has been nominated for a Grammy.

As chief conductor of the Göttinger Symphony Orchestra, he spends much of the year in Germany, but he still calls Australia home. And one home that is particularly dear to his heart is his role as chief conductor of the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra.

Nicholas shares some musical highlights that we have in store for the rest of the year with the Willoughby Symphony, and takes us on a journey through his impressive career, from his time as a young successful violinist to becoming a sought after conductor.

A French-Australian flautist who is very much the household name, Jane Rutter has been a shining light of our classical music scene for well over 30 years. She’s shared billings with world renowned stars such as Lucciano Pavarotti and Michael Crawford, and performed with the full gamut of our own artists in Australia, from Tina Arena to the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She performs regularly in Paris and around the world, and more locally there are her famous Live at Lunch concerts at The Concourse in Chatswood.
She’s recorded an uncountable number of albums for which she’s received four ARIA nominations. Limelight magazine called her “a leading female influence in the world of classical music."
Jane shares some great stories of her journey and the people who helped shape her as a musician. She discusses some of the trailblazing she has done through her career, both willingly and inadvertently, and being at the forefront of how classical repertoire is presented in the modern era.

A much loved baritone from New Zealand, Teddy Tahu Rhodes has captured the hearts of audiences here in Australia and in many parts of the world. An ARIA, Helpmann, and Limelight award-winner, he has given renowned performances in classics such as Don Giovanni and Carmen, and premiere performances in new works including The End of the Affair and Dead Man Walking. He’s performed for Opera Australia, the Metropolitan Opera, the Welsh National Opera and the Bavarian State Opera to name just a few, and regularly sings in concert. Limelight magazine said of his voice “there is a velvet richness, a great resonance, and a touching sense of fragility."

Teddy takes us through his evolution as a singer, from boy soprano to opera star, and getting through his uncertainty and unwillingness in grasping his first big break.

Teddy Tahu Rhodes performs Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs under the artistic direction of Brett Weymark at the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on 18 May. He then performs in La Rondine for the Victorian Opera from 8-10 August, and then returns to the role of Scarpia for performances of Tosca with the Wellington Opera, from the 11-15 September.

In Conversation is on location this week at Melbourne's Hamer Hall to speak with an artist who truly deserves the title of Broadway Royalty. Audra McDonald has won six Tony awards – more performance wins than any other actor, and the only person to win for leading and featured roles in both straight theatre and musicals. Her wins include turns in Carousel, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, and perhaps most notably, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. She’s featured in many well-loved television shows, such as The Good Fight, and The Gilded Age, as well as feature films including the live action version of Beauty and the Beast.

As a classical soprano, she's performed with the Houston Grand Opera and the Los Angeles Opera, has sung with many symphony orchestras including the Berlin and New York Philharmonics, and she’s won two Grammy awards.

In this conversation, Audra takes us through her career from her childhood roles at a dinner theatre in Fresno, California, through her time at Juilliard to her subsequent success and how that's shaped her career choices and advocacy for civil rights.

Audra McDonald performs in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on Saturday May 11, QPAC in Brisbane on May 15, and Hamer Hall in Melbourne on May 17, having already presented concerts in Perth and Adelaide at the time this program was published.

One of this country’s pre-eminent directors, Neil Armfield has a list of credits which is vast, spanning original works and revived classics, directing shows across the world, including on the West End and on Broadway. He’s also of course no stranger to opera, having directed several productions for Opera Australia, as well as for some of the world’s other great opera houses including Covent Garden and the English National Opera. A founder and former artistic director of Belvoir Street, he has been a key figure in the shape of Australian theatre for nearly five decades. 

His current project is directing a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, a production which ran in Melbourne last year when Limelight magazine called it “outstanding" and The Guardian said Tony award winner “Anthony LaPaglia leads an electric, devastating tragedy”. 

Neil speaks about why this piece of mid-20th Century American theatre is so iconic and relevant in today's world. We hear about his life in the theatre, which began with directing his school play in his final year of high school, to working with some of the greats in both Australia and internationally in the subsequent decades.

Death of a Salesman plays at Sydney's Theatre Royal from 17 May.

Watershed, which Neil directed as part of the Adelaide Festival in 2022, will be presented by Opera Australia in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House from 14-16 June.

Hamlet, which Neil directed for Glyndebourne in 2017 and has since been performed by many opera houses around the world including The Met in New York, will be presented by Opera Australia in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House from 20 July - 5 August.

A distinguished conductor with a large repertoire of recordings, Osmo Vänskä has been chief conductor of orchestras in many parts of the world, including the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in his native Finland, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. His repertoire may be vast, but it’s the music of his native Finland, and in particular the music of Sibelius, for which the New York Times noted that Osmo is “one of the most important contemporary interpreters”.

Osmo discusses the music of Sibelius and its importance to Finland, as well as sharing inspirational stories from his life as a conductor.

Osmo Vänskä conducts the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for selections of Sibelius’s original and profound music 24-27 April, and conducts the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for Sibelius and Beethoven on 3-4 May.