Michael Shmith (born 7 July 1949) is an Australian journalist and writer.
He was born on 7 July [1] 1949, [2] the son of Athol Shmith and his wife Patricia "Bambi" née Tuckwell (they later divorced). He worked at The Age in Melbourne from 1981 until 1995, when he became communications director for the Australian Ballet. [3] Shmith was then a senior writer for The Age [4] and its arts editor from 1985 to 1993. From 2010 to 2017 he was the paper's opera critic. He resigned from the position in August 2017 alleging it was over a disagreement with The Age's arts editor who had no space left to publish an unsolicited review. [5]
He edited the 1999 Ebury Publishing edition of The New Pocket Kobbé's Opera Book with his stepfather George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood. [6]
George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood,, styled The Honourable George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was a British classical music administrator and author. He served as director of the Royal Opera House, chairman of the board of the English National Opera (ENO) (1986–95); managing director of the ENO (1972–85), managing director of the English National Opera North (1978–81), governor of the BBC (1985–87), and president of the British Board of Film Classification (1985–96).
Peter Neville Frederick Porter OAM was a British-based Australian poet.
Judith Mary Lucy is an Australian comedian, actress, author, television and radio presenter, known primarily for her stand-up comedy. Lucy joined the team of the ABC's The Weekly with Charlie Pickering in 2019.
Donald Bruce Dawe was an Australian poet, considered by some as one of the most influential Australian poets of all time.
Robert Duncan Drewe is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer.
Luke Davies is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction and the screenplay for the film Lion, which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Davies also co-wrote the screenplay for the film News of the World.
Gustav Kobbé was an American music critic and author, best known for his guide to the operas, The Complete Opera Book, first published (posthumously) in the United States in 1919 and the United Kingdom in 1922.
Cheryl Ruth Barker is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title roles in Dvořák's Rusalka, Janáček's Káťa Kabanová and Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and Emilia Marty in Janáček's The Makropulos Case. She has also made two solo recordings of opera arias, one with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor David Parry and the other with Orchestra Victoria and conductor Richard Bonynge. On the stage she has had partnerships with the English National Opera (ENO) and Opera Australia.
Robyn Archer, AO, CdOAL is an Australian singer, writer, stage director, artistic director, and public advocate of the arts, in Australia and internationally.
Sam McMillan is an Australian musical comedian, satirist, writer and radio presenter who performs under the stage name Sammy J. He embraces a variety of media in his comedy, including the use of video and self-composed music, and frequently collaborates with Randy the purple puppet. He has released several CDs and DVD compilations of his work; most recently the album Symphony in J Minor which was nominated for Best Comedy Release at the 2019 ARIA Awards. He has performed at comedy festivals in Australia, Edinburgh and Montreal, and has appeared on various Australian television shows, including Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane, a sitcom based on the duo's touring show of the same name. He currently produces a weekly political sketch for ABC Television, satirising the news through various characters.
The Complete Opera Book is a guide to operas by American music critic and author Gustav Kobbé first published (posthumously) in the United States in 1919 and the United Kingdom in 1922. A revised edition from 1954 by the Earl of Harewood is known as Kobbé's Complete Opera Book. The 1997 revision, edited by Harewood and Antony Peattie, is titled The New Kobbé's Opera Book.
Louis Athol Shmith was an Australian studio portrait and fashion photographer and photography educator in his home city of Melbourne, Australia. He contributed to the promotion of international photography within Australia as much as to the fostering of Australian photography in the world scene.
Ben Naparstek is an Australian digital media executive and former journalist.
Rupert Christiansen is an English writer, journalist and critic.
Amanda Juliet Holden is a British musician, librettist and translator.
Amiel Courtin-Wilson is an Australian film director, producer and artist. His debut feature film Hail premiered internationally at Venice Film Festival in 2011.
Brett Joseph Sheehy AO is an Australian artistic director, producer and curator. He is currently Artistic Director and CEO of the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC), and is the only person to be appointed to direct three of the five international arts festivals in Australia's State capital cities being Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and Melbourne Festival.
Antony Peattie is a British music writer. He co-edited the 1997 revision of The New Kobbé's Opera Book, with Lord Harewood.
Gordon Kerry is an Australian composer, music administrator, music writer and music critic.
Clifford Henry Hocking was an Australian impresario and festival director.