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

Newsworthy • A round-up of our recent news reports

Giving Voice • American mezzo Joyce DiDonato is known for her musical versatility and her advocacy. Ahead of performances in Hobart and Melbourne, she talks with Clive Paget about her love for Berlioz and her commitment to opera, even if it is “insufferably stupid” at times.

Music of Resistance and Hope • Shostakovich responded to the political world around him in his compositions. As three of our orchestras prepare to play two of his most popular symphonies, Paolo Hooke talks with conductors Umberto Clerici, Sir Donald Runnicles and Mark Wigglesworth about why Shostakovich's music remains as vital and relevant as ever.

TOPP GUN • Alice Topp's first full-length ballet, Butterfly Effect, which tells a contemporary story inspired by Madama Butterfly, is about to premiere at West Australian Ballet. Deborah Jones talks with the busy choreographer and composer Jessica Wells, who has written the score.

DECOLONISING THE ORCHESTRA • Are Australian orchestras and musical institutions genuinely embracing Indigenous voices? First Nations writer Emily Thornton looks at Indigenous representation in Australian classical music and explores how much progress has been made.

Levelling Up • Ahead of his latest tour, Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen talks to Jansson J. Antmann about the multidimensional journey that led him to reimagine music education.

What's new on disc • This month features music by Tchaikovsky, Bruckner, Holst and Britten alongside international labels featuring Australian composers Malcolm Williamson and Liza Lim.

Art and Not-Art • In an interview with Maddy Briggs, American percussionist, conductor and author Steven Schick unravels the musical philosophy that informs his residency at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Maid in Australia • About to star in Pergolesi's Maid Made Boss for Pinchgut Opera, Australian soprano Celeste Lazarenko chats with Steve Dow about her First Nations heritage and her time in the UK.

In the Pouch • Director Kate Woods chats with Jo Litson about her latest film Kangaroo – a delightful family movie set in Central Australia.

Brahms: Symphonist by Robert Pascall

The Thread

On Air & Online • UK musician and filmmaker Stewart French tells Jo Litson about his documentary project Fly On The Wall, and its online exhibition featuring films of classical musicians at their most unguarded, delivering intimate performances.

ABC Classic concert program – September 2025

Independent radio & streaming – September 2025

Tip Top • On a recent European holiday, Guy Noble lost the top of a finger. He raises a hand to the good-humoured staff at Britain's NHS, who repaired his damaged digit.

Fuego y Agua • All musical material is “received”, believes Huw Belling. He explains why as he prepares to direct a program for The Song Company, which includes a world premiere of his own music, written in response to a song by 16th-century Catalan composer Mateo Flecha.

The Vibraphone • American-born musician...