Wednesdays from 1 – 2pm with Simon Moore.
Here are some highlights of In Conversation, for the most recent episodes, click HERE.
Jump to: Graham Abbott, Sarah Brightman, Ray Chen, Tim Draxl, David Malouf, Audra McDonald, James O’Donnell, Philip Quast, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Andreas Scholl, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Anthony Warlow, Eric Whitacre
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11 December 2024 – Graham Abbott
A conductor beloved by Australian audiences for nearly 50 years, Graham Abbott has conducted all the state symphony orchestras, most of our major opera companies, and many of our choirs. He’s also a well-respected broadcaster, most particularly for the ABC program Keys to Music, and has more recently developed a reputation as one of our premier music tour leaders. After many decades of waving his arms about, he’s decided that he will bring his conducting career to a close with a composer he has dedicated much of his career to and one of the most famous pieces of music ever written – Handel’s Messiah.
Graham shares his adoration of Handel and gives us an understanding of how he worked and where Messiah fits into his greater oeuvre. He talks of his love of radio broadcasting, and his role as a music tour leader. His skills in all these areas manifest themselves throughout the program through his musical selections.
23 October 2024 – Andreas Scholl
He is a counter-tenor loved by audiences around the world. Andreas Scholl has a beautiful pure clarity of voice, gives absolutely divine performances including on his dozens of albums, and he has a wonderful gentle good humour too.
Andreas talks about the discovery of his beautiful counter tenor voice as an adolescent, which inspired him to make music his career. We hear about how his musical development was nurtured and what he has learnt on this journey. We also get to hear his baritone singing voice, which is heard more often than you might think, including on electro-pop songs!
This program was recorded in advance of Andreas performing with the Australian World Orchestra in October 2024.
11 September 2024 – Tim Draxl
“The complete package!” is how Tim Draxl has been described for his performance as Joe Gillis in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s musical Sunset Boulevard, currently playing at the Sydney Opera House. That part is just the latest in a long line of Tim’s roles in his 20-plus year career which has garnered him nominations for AACTAs, Logies, and a Helpmann Award. On stage he has appeared in musicals such as Jagged Little Pill, Into the Woods and Catch Me If You Can. He is a familiar face on TV, most particularly for his long running role in A Place to Call Home, and more recently the ABC series about the Australian response to the AIDS crisis, In Our Blood. His films include Swimming Upstream and Blacklight among many others. He’s also no stranger to cabaret, and has released four albums.
Tim takes us through his career from budding cabaret performer, through his time in Hollywood and to his most recent roles. He candidly shares the story of coming out publicly, his embrace of which has led him to be a part of several ground-breaking productions and being an inspiration for many LGTBQIA+ Australians, young and old.
This program was recorded while Tim was performing Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard for Opera Australia.
7 August 2024 – Sarah Brightman
International icon Sarah Brightman began her stage career at the age of just 13, and never looked back. She’s best known for creating the role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera both in the West End and on Broadway, the cast album of which is the highest selling cast album in history. She went on to a stellar recording career, having released dozens of albums. She’s now in Australia, ready for her close up, performing the role of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Sunset Boulevard.
Sarah revisits the early days of her career development. We hear about her breakthrough in Cats, the success of The Phantom of the Opera, plus her subsequent recording career which includes iconic performances with Andrea Bocelli and José Carreras. Sarah also tells about training to be an astronaut!
24 July 2024 – James O’Donnell
James O’Donnell is one of the leading organists and choral conductors of his generation. He was Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, and subsequently Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey for over 20 years, during which time he was responsible for the music at several significant events – most notably the wedding of Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Katherine, and the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Since 2023 he has been Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at Yale.
In this conversation, James shares some of the history of the remarkable institutions he has served, and we delve into some of the recordings he has made with the Choirs of Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. We also hear about some of the broader responsibilities which came with his service at Westminster Abbey.
26 June 2024 – Anthony Warlow AM
A musical theatre actor responsible for some of the most notable performances on our stages, Anthony Warlow began his career with the Australian Opera in 1980. He has since become a household name thanks to his work in The Phantom of the Opera, The Secret Garden, Annie, My Fair Lady, Jeckyll & Hyde to name only a few, while also performing with Opera Australia for The Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus, The Pirates of Penzance, and more. He’s performed on Broadway and the West End, and has several albums to his name.
In this extended version of the broadcast edition, Anthony displays his deep understanding of how to create a successful performance, time and again. We hear stories about his journey to the stage, and about some of the roles that have made him one of Australia’s popular and successful musical theatre performers.
The program was recorded while Anthony played Billy Flynn, the lawyer who lets you get away with murder, in Chicago.
15 May 2024 – Teddy Tahu Rhodes
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.
8 May 2024 – Audra McDonald
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.
23 August 2023 – Claude-Michel Schönberg
A legend of the musical theatre world, composer Claude-Michel Schönberg is one half of the team behind Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, and many other musicals. Of the Boublil-Schönberg writing team, it’s Claude-Michel who provides the music. The pair have been collaborating since their 1973 musical La Revolution Française, but it was their concept album of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables which led to a West End production, and for their work to be performed in all corners of the world.
Claude-Michel was in Sydney thanks to Opera Australia’s production of Miss Saigon, and in this conversation we hear about the inspiration behind this musical, the course of events which led to their international success with Les Misérables, as well as hearing about his unique relationship with music which has carried him throughout his life.
12 July 2023 – Ray Chen
A world renowned Australian violinist, Aria-nominated Ray Chen has redefined what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st Century. He has broken boundaries not just in his playing but in his embrace of modern technology, reaching out to a global audience of millions thanks to a captivating online presence. He’s spread his wings into the world of computer games, is a fashion icon thanks to a multi-year partnership with Armani, and has collaborated with Sting. He also has a serious commitment to music education which has even led him to launch a new music practicing app, called Tonic. He may fly all around the world to perform concerts but he still calls Australia home, and is currently touring the country.
In this fast moving and jovial conversation, Ray enthusiastically talks about his craft, the inspiration and methodology behind the Tonic music practice app, making his acting cameos, his energetic social media presence, and much more.
Tonic is available for iOS and Android.
17 March 2023 – Philip Quast AM
An actor who has graced the stage both here and internationally, Philip Quast is the winner of three Olivier Awards for Best Actor in a Musical, unsurprising when you consider he is widely regarded as the definitive Javert from Les Miserables. He’s also well known for his roles in Sunday in the Park with George, South Pacific and Mary Poppins, and he’s performed innumerable Shakespeare plays plus seminal works such as Death of a Salesman.
He is bringing his one-man show, Philip Quast: The Road I Took, to the intimacy of the Ensemble theatre, for 6 shows only from the 19th to the 29th of March. In this special edition of In Conversation, Philip shares stories from his remarkable life, from his childhood on a farm near Tamworth, the somewhat unorthodox audition technique that secured him the role of Javert, and working with Stephen Sondheim. He also provides fascinating insights about teaching his craft to the next generations of performers at NIDA.
26 October 2022 – David Malouf AO
One of Australia’s greatest writers, David Malouf has been publishing acclaimed novels, short stories, poetry, plays and opera librettos for over 50 years. He’s the recipient of countless awards – most notably the International Dublin Literary Award for Remembering Babylon in 1996, the Australian Prime Minister’s literary award in 2008, and in 2016 the Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. In the Australia Day 1997 honours he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, for services to literature.
He’s also a great lover of fine music, and in this conversation David shares some of his favourite music and what it means to him, talks about his writing and muses on the best ways to teach literature to young children.
This program was recorded at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville in July 2022, where David was both an audience member and also entertaining audiences as part of the Festival’s Conversation series.
31 August 2022 – Eric Whitacre
For Eric Whitacre, everything seems possible. The music of this Grammy-award winning composer and conductor has been performed in all corners of the world. He has united 100,000 singers in more than 145 countries for his ground breaking Virtual Choirs, his debut album as a conductor, Light and Gold, went straight to the top of the charts, and he’s even collaborated with NASA – his composition Deep Field having been inspired by the Hubble Telescope, leading him to work on a film seen at arts and science festivals across the globe.
In this conversation, Eric talks about The Sacred Veil, which he is coming to Australia to conduct with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs at the Sydney Opera House. We also hear insights about his composing and his unorthodox entry into the classical genre, the Virtual Choirs projects, his public speaking, plus he eloquently introduces a diverse selection of pieces which have inspired him over the years.
Photo: Marc Royce