Talking Classical Podcast

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.*  It was wonderful to record a podcast with Toby Spence, one of the world's most sought-after tenors, on his fiftieth birthday. In this special interview, we discuss: his early musical training and influences, his formative years at English National Opera, starring as Captain Vere in Deborah Warner's recent production of...

In this preview from a special interview, recorded with world-leading tenor Toby Spence on the day of his 50th birthday, we reminisce about the Young Royal Opera House performance of Britten's opera Billy Budd earlier this month, in which Toby played the indomitable role of Captain Vere. Plus some unexpected audience reactions to fight scenes at Covent Garden and The Met! SoundCloud & Facebook...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* 13-19 May 2019 is Mental Health Awareness Week, a week organised by UK charity the Mental Health Foundation that aims to get the nation talking about mental health. Mental health has been particularly prevalent in discussions within the classical music sector and I felt that it was very important to reflect on these for Ment...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* For the tenth episode of Talking Classical, I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and relive one of my archive interviews I recorded when I was a student. In 2013, I was very lucky to interview the British composer, broadcaster and writer Howard Goodall. Due to Howard's incredibly busy schedule, we met...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* I was very lucky to meet Nathan while starring in English National Opera's production of Lehár's classic operetta The Merry Widow. In this interview, we discuss his career and collegial friendships formed in London and the UK, his delightful but fully committed Wigmore Hall recital presented while in London, and his thoughts...

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*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* Last month, I was very lucky to see the first preview of the National Theatre's revival of Stephen Sondheim's classic musical Follies. As well as starring rising young talents and the cream of British musical theatre, the wonderful soprano Alison Langer plays the role of Young Heidi Schiller (an opera singer), with Heidi Sch...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* In this episode, I am talking about the influence of classical music in China with Dr Shzr Ee Tan, Senior Lecturer and an ethnomusicologist at Royal Holloway, University of London. China is a country, which has undoubtedly had a massive impact on the classical music industry in many ways, and very much continues to impact th...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* This episode is a little different to the previous ones. If anyone can talk better about the connections between music and dance, it surely has to be the dancers themselves because they have direct experience of the music, by internalising and emoting it through their amazing movements and physiques. I recorded a conversatio...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* It was a delight to talk to the celebrated British baritone and composer Roderick Williams earlier this week about his musical training at school, university and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, thought processes when singing and performing, technical aspects of singing, and his methods in front of a live audience. S...

Ep. 5 Preview w/ Roderick Williams 

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* Happy New Year everyone! We're starting 2019 with a two-part series on singing in the 21st century. In this episode, we're exploring vocality from pedagogical, philosophical and physiological perspectives. and what some of the implications are for singing today such as amplification in opera houses and the way one places the...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* In this episode, we're exploring the fascinating area of classical music marketing and PR with Dr Marius Carboni. He was formerly the Press and Promotions Manager at EMI Classics and the Press Manager at Decca Classics, and now runs his own independent PR and marketing consultancy Carboni Classical Media. He has worked with...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.* A fascinating conversation with professional flautist, teacher and early music specialist Elizabeth Walker. We talked about her experiences and the precautions of teaching young musicians, and what it was like being involved in the early stages of the historical performance movement at this exciting and vibrant time. She als...

*All podcasts formerly on SoundCloud have now been redirected to Anchor.*  Welcome to the first episode of the Talking Classical Podcast! In this podcast, we'll be hearing from Dr Mark Berry, Reader in Music at Royal Holloway, University of London. It's a fascinating conversation about his work as a music critic and writer. *UPDATED 10 AUGUST 2020* Since this podcast, Mark has been appointed...