'Softly, Deftly, Music Shall Surround You' - Conductor, Orchestrator, Musical Director and Musical Supervisor; Guy Simpson

Summary: Guy Simpson has been working as a Conductor, Orchestrator, Musical Director and Musical Supervisor for over 40 years. He is currently Musical Supervisor of The Phantom of the Opera and Cinderella for Opera Australia. He is also the conductor of The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour, taking to the Harbour stage in March/April. Guy's work on The Phantom of the Opera began in Australia in 1990 and has continued on and off for the past 30 years, conducting or supervising productions in Auckland, Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Brazil (in Portuguese), Manila, Bangkok, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing and Seoul. He has had a similar long association with Miss Saigon since 1994 - conducting or supervising productions in Australia, Manila, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Seoul, The Netherlands and Japan. For Opera Australia he was Musical Director of Evita (starring Tina Arena), the 60th anniversary production of My Fair Lady (directed by Julie Andrews) and West Side Story (on Sydney Harbour). Other international productions include Cats (Australia, New Zealand), Chicago (Australia, Hong Kong) and We Will Rock You - the QUEEN musical (Australia, Japan). Productions throughout Australia include Muriel's Wedding, The Wizard of Oz, Dream Lover, Prima Donna (the opera by Rufus Wainwright), Passion, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Love Never Dies (the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera), Les Miserables, Cabaret, Company, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Pirates of Penzance, Snoopy, Seesaw, Zorba, Oklahoma!, Funny Girl, Call Me Madam, Mack and Mabel, The Music Man, They're Playing our Song, Carousel, Camelot, Little Me, Follies, Promises Promises, Gypsy and Guys and Dolls. As an orchestrator recent projects include the musicals Ladies in Black and Dream Lover. As a producer of cast recordings he has produced the albums of Muriel's Wedding and Dream Lover for Sony, and two cast recordings of The Phantom of the Opera in Korea. Guy joined STAGES prior to the rehearsal period for 'Phantom' on Sydney Harbour to reflect on his affinity with the iconic show, and his extensive career guiding and delivering musical scores to audiences around the world. Opera Australia's HOSH The Phantom of the Opera plays March 25th to April 24th at the Fleet Steps, Mrs Macquaries' Point, Sydney. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Whooshkaa, Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages). www.stagespodcast.com.au