This week is a very special insight into the world of being a music critic, an arts journalist and thinking about how to listen to the new, the challenging or listening differently. Declassify welcomes Dr Harriet Cunningham is a writer and researcher, best known as music and theatre critic for the Sydney Morning Herald. She writes for publications including The Saturday Paper, Limelight and the Financial Review. She has recently completed doctoral studies at UTS writing a cultural history of Dartington International Summer School of Music. She has been known to play the violin. Join us as we unpack the world of opera, the backlash from Opera Australia in reaction to criticism, narrowing repertoire choice of major arts companies and its consequences.  

Selected Resources (full list available in transcript):

Harriet Cunningham 

http://www.acunningplan.com/index.php/about/ 

Opera Australia barring of music critic:

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/so-childish-opera-australia-artistic-director-lyndon-terracini-revokes-critics-tickets-20150103-12hait.html 

Ideas on opera and opera funding

https://theconversation.com/does-opera-deserve-its-privileged-status-within-arts-funding-84761 

Selection of Harriet’s work

https://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/article/gender-equity-and-diversity-in-opera-summit-the-listener-s-account 


Harriet’s choices

https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/jeremy-dutcher-pays-moving-homage-to-mother-earth-20200116-p53s0m.html

 https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/culture/music/2020/08/22/new-music-online/159801840010298