Phillip Gainsley's Podcast

Now-retired opera stage director Sonja Frisell capped her astounding career in 2017, when at age 80 in Muscat, Oman,  with the touring Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro, she restaged Jean Pierre-Ponnelle’s 1987 production of a little known one-act opera, L’Occasione fa il Ladro (“Opportunity makes the thief”).  She had been a protégé of Ponnelle, so who better? But it was in 1989 when the Metropoli...

Paul Jacobs is chair of the organ department at Juilliard School.  An extraordinarily expressive performer and an intensely intelligent musician, Grammy Award-winning organist, he is helping the “King of Instruments” retake its rightful place in classical music.  Charming to speak with and passionate about the instrument, this hour with Paul is sheer delight. 

Described by The New York Times as “one of America’s finest artists and singers,” Frederica von Stade continues to be extolled as one of the music world’s most beloved figures. She has enriched the world of classical music for three decades.  Her career has taken her to the stages of the world’s great opera houses and concert halls. She began at the top, when she received a contract from Rudolf Bi...

Ira Siff is a native New Yorker, who grew up on the standing room line of the old Metropolitan Opera, worshiping the famous singers of the 60s.  A graduate of the Cooper Union, with a degree in Fine Arts, Ira studied voice, and made his debut as a tenor in 1970. For the next decade, he performed roles in opera, operetta and musicals in New York, at The New York Shakespeare Festival, Circle in the...

Anna Clyne was described as “fearless” by NPR.  After sampling her works you'll know why.  She is one of the most in-demand composers today, working with orchestras, choreographers, filmmakers, and visual artists around the world. Anna was named the 8th most performed contemporary composer in the world and the most performed living female British composer, in 2022.

Mattias Schulstad is a Swedish classical guitarist, whose playing is described by Gramophone magazine as “refined, intelligent and highly musical.”  He has made recordings, performed as soloist with orchestra, and developed the guitar’s repertoire. Mattias’s recent single, Johann Sebastian Bach's prelude BWV 999 features, according to Pulitzer-winner Tim Page, “immaculate and sensitive playing tha...

With his last-minute stand-in in the acclaimed new production of Salome at the Berlin State Opera, Thomas Guggeis caused a sensation internationally.  As Staatskapellmeister of the Staatsoper Berlin since 2020/21 has conducted, or is due to conduct, Falstaff, Lohengrin, Samson et Dalila, Hansel and Gretel, Don Giovanni, Jenufa, T he Merry Wives of Windsor and Elektra .  His debut at the Vienna Sta...

Based in Brooklyn, New York and Minneapolis, Minnesota, David has performed off-broadway and around the country at American Conservatory Theatre, The Guthrie, Baltimore Center Stage, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Theatre Latte Da, and many others. He is the author of several musicals including The Passage, which has been developed at the NAMT Festival, Village Theatre, and be...

Richard Russell is general director of Sarasota Opera.  He performed with the company for four seasons beginning in 1989 as an apprentice artist, studio artist, and principal.  During his tenure as general director, Sarasota Opera increased individual giving by over 50%, more than doubled its endowment, and completed its world-renowned Verdi Cycle. Richard managed the construction and fundraising...

David is a Canadian psychiatrist, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, author, lecturer and mental health advocate. He most recently served from 2003-2022 as the Senior Medical Advisor of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and a psychiatric consultant.  Beyond his mental health work, he is a member of the board of the Royal Conservatory of Music. He has also chaired...

Beautiful Sarasota, Florida offers more than sun and beaches.  It’s the home of opera, orchestra and ballet organizations, and fine arts museums and galleries.  Listen, as the area’s arts critics discuss their roles in the arts and the future of criticism generally.  Carrie Seidman, Jay Handelman and Marty Fugate are our panelists. Courtesy of The Education Center at Temple Beth Israel, Longboat K...

He's been called "The New Pavarotti."  You must hear this to believe it.  Most recently, Jay made his Southwestern Oklahoma recital debut in Altus, OK and was featured in recital to honor opera diva and Oklahoma native, Leona Mitchell.  In addition, Jay recorded and released a new digital album, The Recital Album, featuring recital repertoire and opera arias.  Also, he completed work on a special...

Alexander is currently music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and principal associate conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra .  He was recently appointed and artistic and music director-designate of Artis-Naples and the Naples (FL) Philharmonic.  He is a thrilling guest with much to offer on many topics.

t was a thrill to chat with Laurie, whose impeccable research, combined with her writing and editing skills, resulted in a fascinating biography of Oscar Hammerstein II, starting with his grandfather’s day in vaudeville, and continuing up to his paternal relationship with the late Stephen Sondheim.  Her insights and analysis are helpful in understanding this great man of the musical theater.  And...

Michael Brindisi returns to our podcast to discuss Chanhassen Dinner Theaters’current production of The Prom and its next production, Jersey Boys.   Michael and his ownership team have placed inclusion, diversity and equity in the forefront of its production policy and audiences have responded enthusiastically.  It is always a pleasure to speak with Michael!

Janet is a retired associate principal cellist with the Minnesota Orchestra, and a world-wide recitalist.  Her recently-relerased book, The Cello Still Sings tells of being a daughter of Holocaust survivors who kept the horror to themselves for most the their children’s lives.  It was only in her father’s last year did Janet learn the details of what her parents endured. Listen to her narrative, a...

Most of Michael’s time is devoted to The Grange Festival, created in 2015.  The first performances at The Grange were in 2017. To date, the festival has staged 15 operas and  numerous other events, including masterclasses, recitals and two international singing competitions. It’s idyllic!

Over ten years in the making, Jennifer Homans's treatise on choreographer George Balanchine introduces us to this complicated artist in a light not heretofore shown.  With Lincoln Kerstein, Balanchine created the School of American Ballet, and then the New York City Ballet. One cannot study Balanchine without studying Russian history, at least immediately preceding the Revolution up to the early 8...

Richard Will’s treatise, “ Don Giovanni Captured”, subtitled “Performance, Media, Myth” (The University of Chicago Press)  reviews the history of recording Mozart’s Don Giovann i  - wax cylinders, 78 RPMs, 33⅓ RPMs (long-playing records), CDs, VHSs, DVDs, and streaming.  He supplies us with examples of his analyses with plenty of recorded excerpts in the book’s companion website. Listen, as he com...

Jess is a London-based saxphonist, presenter and broadcaster.  What she has done with the sax is revolutionary.  Her enthusiam is contagious.  

Anne Midgette, critic and writer on the arts and other important topics.  She wrote criticism for The New York Times and The Washington Post

Michael Fabiano is more than a world-class opera performer.  In 2016 he co-founded ArtSmart.  The first program of its kind, ArtSmart is bringing professionally-taught voice lessons to 12 students every week, free of charge.  Michael devotes his personal time and attention to this program, now available in nine states.