But i obviously grew up watching him pursue a passion. My sister did a lot of gymnastics, a bit of dancing, and as a seven year old, i asked my father if i could have a go. I wanted to go to a dance lesson, and my mother and father didn t even question any of it bearing in mind we didn t go to the theatre, we didn t go to galleries, or. . . I was not exposed to the arts. But they found a local school around the corner, and we now can fully appreciate that little local school had some of the best teachers you could ever come across. And you had this very rapid rise through your teens. You performed at the opening ceremony of the sydney olympics, and then you started to win international ballet competitions. The first teachers i had unleashed this tiger within me. So, then it was when i was about 13 or 14, which again shows you just how incredible my first teachers were, that they felt they d taken me so far, and it was time to hand me on they introduced me to my teacher in sydney, h
Steven mcrae, welcome to hardtalk. We re here at the royal ballet and opera in london, which has been your professional home for many years now, and you re about to go back on stage as the mad hatter in alice s adventures in wonderland. Tell me first how this adventure began for you, the world of ballet. Because you grew up far away from here. Yes. So i grew up in the outskirts of sydney, australia. Probably the furthest you could possibly get from the royal opera house here in london. I grew up in a motorsport family. My father was a drag racer. My father was an incredibly clever man who would create any parts with his own bare hands that he couldn t afford to purchase or to import. But i obviously grew up watching him pursue a passion. My sister did a lot of gymnastics, a bit of dancing, and as a seven year old, i asked my father if i could have a go. I wanted to go to a dance lesson, and my mother and father didn t even question any of it. Bearing in mind we didn t go to the theatre
The top of his game. What sir bryn terfel s long and stellar career tells us about how to make opera fit for the future. Let me take you to the opera. He sings in italian. Sir bryn terfel has all the Magic Ingredients it takes to become a world class opera star incredible stage presence, amazing acting range from dramatic to comic, and of course, a rich Bass Baritone voice that enthrals audiences wherever he performs. Im invited backstage ahead of bryns performance in the barber of seville, a comic masterpiece by the 19th century italian composer, rossini. Before getting into costume, bryn warms up his voice. He sings in italian. Hello, it is your make up call. Here now . Yes as if im not already fat enough, ey he plays don basilio, a music teacher whose sole interest is in lining his own pockets. Hello, sir bryn terfel are you here for a singing lesson . I wish you know, i admire people like you who can sing but ijust cant sing myself. I can sing but i cant teach singing so im glad yo
plays like 12th night. what kind of man is he? ..the tempest. our revels now are ended. ..julius caesar. friends, romans, countrymen. ..and macbeth. stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more. these plays would all have been lost had it not been for the first folio. do you want me to do a clap? i am the bbc s culture editor, katie razzall, and i caught up with david during his rehearsals for macbeth and asked him about the role shakespeare s first folio has played in his life. the reason that shakespeare is the cultural colossus that he is is because that book was published. you know why we re here. it is 400 years since the first folio and i wondered, as somebody steeped in shakespeare like you, what does the first folio mean to you? well, i mean, it contains so many of the plays that are the reason why shakespeare is the cornerstone of our cultural life in the way that he is. he simply wouldn t exist as part of the kind of national conversation in the way that he does witho