Artistic Director Stuart Maunder on a life filled with music
Hear the music that defined the career of Victorian Opera Artistic Director Stuart Maunder AM.
Stuart visited the 3MBS Studio to chart his remarkable career in Australian theatre, from growing up on a farm in northern NSW to directing Victorian Opera’s varied and historic productions.
“Music is for everyone,” he told host Ted Davies. “No matter your race, creed, whatever, it touches your heart. You just want to bottle it, the feeling.”
The interview features music, chosen by Stuart, from composers such as Rossini, Sondheim, and Gilbert and Sullivan – his lifelong love. Stuart says he first encountered Gilbert and Sullivan at 16, when his teacher at an agricultural boarding school lent him a book of Gilbert’s annotated libretti after he was cast in a school production of Ruddigore.
“The use of the language, the cleverness of the rhymes and all these arcane references to bizarre historical facts and characters… It just blew my mind,” he said.
Stuart became Victorian Opera’s Artistic Director in 2023. He has not only directed mainstage productions such as La Rondine and Follies, but also productions that platform and mentor emerging artists such as English Eccentrics and Mansfield Park.
Stuart’s passion for music is infectious – listen back to his hour-long interview below.