Internationally renowned baritone, Peter Kálmán, joins the podcast from the Salzburg Festival where he was singing Schubert's opera, Fierrabras, with Ingo Metzmacher and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Peter chats with Marie about how he came to opera through his love of acting and the theater. He is the bass-baritone of choice for Cecilia Bartoli – the one she insists on singing next to when she does an opera production or makes a recording. Peter has sung all over the world. He was a member of the Zurich Opera Company, and since then has been singing in all the biggest opera houses and most prestigious festivals – Paris, Vienna, Salzburg – just to name a few. 

He loves to play character roles – the buffo or the bösewicht – two common operatic characters, the comic relief or the villain. He talks with me about his favorite roles, life in the opera world today, and how he gets inspiration for characters through real life experiences – good or bad – and by simply watching people.

Michael Walters started out his career as a contemporary ballet dancer with the Netherlands Dance Theater, Frankfurt Ballet, and Lyon Opera, and has since transitioned into a career as an actor. After achiveing the top level of success as a dancer, Michael talks to Marie about what it was like to start over again in a new artistic field, and what it was like to go back to school again at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London where he trained as an actor.
Michael's story is so incredible that it can sometimes seem like the plot of a movie. He struggled as a teenager in Detroit, determined to become a dancer, and tells the story of how he found classical ballet against all odds and how it shaped his life.

After making his transition from dance into acting, Michael has a unique perspective on artistry - and what it means to transcend any one artistic discipline.

Since graduating from RADA, Michael has been seen on London stages including his major breakout role as Jean-Michel Basquiat in "A Thousand Years of History".