Limelight

Independent, in-depth and intelligent, Limelight offers Australia's finest coverage of music, arts and culture. Inside each issue, we invite you to take a deep dive into at least four main features exploring the music, opera, theatre and dance sectors, as well as articles addressing the big issues facing the arts and entertainment industry. Additional interviews, reviews and opinion pieces are included in the Soundings and Coda sections. Plus, discover upcoming events across the country in On Stage, and schedule your at-home listening with On Air & Online, which includes ABC Classic, independent radio and online broadcast information.

Limelight

Contributors

On Stage

In the Limelight

KEYS TO A BRIGHTER WORLD • As the ABC begins a two-month celebration of the piano, pianist and writer Dylan Henderson discusses the heartwarming new television series, The Piano, with classical pianist Andrea Lam, who is one of the judges, two of the show’s participants and ABC Classic’s Megan Burslem.

The ‘Right’ Strauss • Known in his day as The Waltz King, Johann Strauss II has always been popular, while also being dismissed by some as a composer of ‘light’ rather than ‘serious’ music. Yvonne Frindle takes up the cudgel on his behalf, arguing that we should use the 200th anniversary of his birth to reassess, commend and celebrate his delightful repertoire.

PITCH PERFECT • Eddie Perfect tells Jo Litson how he wrote the music and lyrics for Beetlejuice The Musical and why he agreed to play the deranged poltergeist in Melbourne.

A Step to the Summit • It took Angelin Preljocaj 50 years before he felt ready to tackle the "Everest" that is Swan Lake. The French choreographer and two of his leading dancers tell Rhys Ryan about the creation of Ballet Preljocaj’s modern, ecological production, which is headed for Brisbane.

Walking Tall • Fresh from her award-winning performance in Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, Pamela Rabe co-directs and stars in Samuel Beckett’s existential masterpiece Happy Days for Sydney Theatre Company. She talks to Steve Dow about the power of the two dramas.

What’s new on disc • This month we feature a treasure trove of discoveries, from unknown Lieder and operatic rarities to the birth of the nocturne and another wonderful unearthed female composer.

New York Counterpoint • Ensemble Offspring joins new music giants at Bang on a Can’s 2025 Long Play festival. Claire Edwardes tells Maddy Briggs why she’s so thrilled.

A Rare Bird • Composer Jonathan Dove talks to Clive Paget about his comic opera Flight, coming to Adelaide.

Flocking to the Theatre • Louise Fox tells Jo Litson about her visceral new stage adaptation of The Birds.

Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera by Lucy Caplan • Caplan’s exploration of what she calls "Black operatic counterculture" is quite the game changer.

Unveiled by Vincent Fantauzzo • From delinquent youth to celebrated portrait artist, this is an extraordinary tale.

Dying • This unusually frank film about a conductor and his family is bleak but deeply rewarding.

On Air & Online

ABC Classic concert program - May 2025

Independent radio & streaming - May 2025

Let it Go • Pondering the inconsistency of memory, which sees us remember some things but not others, Guy Noble argues that rather than hold a grudge, it’s better to forgive and forget.

Stories Within Stories • Peggy Polias is this year’s Composer in Connection with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. She takes us inside her new orchestral work - a melody-driven meta piece, which plays with the mathematical idea of self-similarity.

The Theremin • German virtuoso Carolina Eyck explains what it’s like to become one with...