Contemporary crossovers

Available for 28 days

Tenor Nicky Spence explores the deep and often-overlooked connections between classical music and the world of musical theatre. In Episode 3, Nicky considers the influence of classical music on musical theatre from the 1980s to the present day, delving into the operatic roots of ‘sung-through’ musicals such as Les Miserables and Hadestown, as well as exploring musicals based on the lives of classical composers. Nicky talks to the star soprano Renée Fleming, who has performed both operatic and musical theatre roles, about the joys and challenges of working across the two disciplines. Nicky and his husband, the pianist Dylan Perez, also perform musical excerpts from Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin and Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, drawing out hidden connections. Produced by Rachel Gill for BBC Audio.