People of Note

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY PIETER TOERIEN PRODUCTIONS. People of Note is broadcast on Sunday evening at 6 pm on Fine Music Radio with a repeat on Thusday afternoon at 1 pm, presented by Rodney Trudgeon.

Says Rodney: “There are a number of fascinating people who pass through Cape Town and I’ve always felt there to be a need for a programme that allows an in-depth discussion with these personalities. Whether their fields are music, literature, theatre, dance, opera or even politics and economics, we’ll invite them into the studio to talk about their lives, inspirations and role models, among other things.
“Rather like the famous BBC programme, Desert Island Discs, I’ll ask my guests to bring with them their six or seven favourite pieces of music to share with us.”

Among the long list of guests on the programme so far have been people such as Rhoda Kadalie, Lord Robin Renwick, Petronel Malan, Pieter Dirk Uys, Ruby Wax, Jonathan Roxmouth, Imam Rashied Omar and many more.
Weekly English South Africa TV & Film
380 Episodes
60 – 80

People of Note - Sandra Prinsloo

What promises to be a fascinating and absorbing play opens at the Theatre on the Bay 0n 20 February. It’s called Masterclass and it stars Sandra Prinsloo as a retired Maria Callas giving master classes to young opera singers at Juilliard School in New York in 1971. The production is…
12 Feb 2023 58 min

People Of Note - Joan Hambidge

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is Professor Joan Hambidge who is a celebrated Afrikaans poet, literary critic and author. Joan is known to FMR listeners as a regular reviewer on our programme Boekkeuse and has two doctorates, one under Andre Brink and a second in cultural…
3 Feb 2023 57 min

People of Note - Kirstel Patterson

It’s all about prima ballerinas on this week’s edition of People of Note where Rodney Trudgeon talks to Principal Dancer at Cape Town City Ballet, KIRSTEL PATERSON. Kirstel will be dancing the title role in the upcoming production of Cinderella here at the Artscape Theatre. Kirstel started training as a…
29 Jan 2023 58 min

People Of Note - Mervyn Williams

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is MERVYN WILLIAMS who has just celebrated 36 years with Cape Town City Ballet. Mervyn has been making magic both on and off the stage for all those years – first as a dancer and now as Head of Wardrobe, as…
22 Jan 2023 58 min

People Of Note - Tracy Edwards

I’m very excited to introduce you to my guest on People of Note this week. Tracy Edwards MBE is a British sailor who, in 1989, skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round The World Yacht Race and went on to become the first woman to receive the Yachtsman…
15 Jan 2023 58 min

People Of Note - Glenn Babb

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is the former diplomat Glenn Babb whose new book called “In One Era and Out Of The Other” has recently been published. As most people are aware, the mid-1980s Was a very difficult time internationally for South Africa. Demands for sanctions…
8 Jan 2023 58 min

People Of Note - Gustavo Romero

For his first guest on People of Note for 2023, Rodney Trudgeon has invited the concert pianist Gustavo Romero into the studio. About a year ago, Gustavo performed all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas for the Cape Town Concert series at the Baxter Concert Hall. Now, from 7 January, Gustavo is…
1 Jan 2023 57 min

People Of Note - Marin Alsop

Fine Music Radio has a veritable treat for you on Christmas Day. The guest on People of Note on Sunday is probably the most famous guest Rodney Trudgeon has interviewed - the internationally famous conductor MARIN ALSOP. Classic FM in London voted Marin Alsop as one of the top 18…
23 Dec 2022 58 min

People Of Note - Geoffry D Tribe

Imagine being a bee lover ad research and yet you are violently allergic to bee stings. This is the situation with Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week, GEOFF TRIBE. Despite the ever present danger of an anaphylactic attack, honey bees have been a perpetual source of fascination…
18 Dec 2022 58 min

People of Note - Guy Deacon

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week has a remarkable story to tell. His name is Guy Deacon and. 10 years ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He realised how lucky he was in the UK with access to neurologists and medication, in contrast to many people…
11 Dec 2022 57 min

People Of Note - Wessel Odendaal

It’s always exciting when a new musical opens and this is what will happen on the 8th December when the Abrahamse and Meyer production of Star Crossed opens at the Artscape Arena. It tells the story of the eccentric Elizabeth Klarer who, in 1910, alleged that she was abducted by…
4 Dec 2022 53 min

People of Note - Jonathan Shapiro

Arguably South Africa’s most famous cartoonist is Zapiro, whose real name is Jonathan Shapiro. His cartoons have the ability to make us laugh but also to make us cringe and feel uncomfortable as he snipes at our politicians, including international figures, and, as he says, even in his crazy mind…
27 Nov 2022 57 min

People of Note - Sarita Stern

Rodney Trudgeon’s guest on People of Note this week is a very brave and very passionate opera singer. Sarita Stern was the victim of a tragic incident in 1974 when an intruder threw acid into her face just a few days before she was due to make her debut as…
20 Nov 2022 57 min

People of Note - Coenie De Villiers

Arguably one of South Africa’s best known performers and songwriters is Coenie De Villiers. He has released 22 albums of his own works, received a huge number of awards, he’s written and opera and a ballet and he anchored the kykNet flagship magazine programme Kwela for 17 years. Coenie began…
13 Nov 2022 58 min

People of Note - Matthew Wild

Cape Town Opera in collaboration with the UCT Opera School are presenting Handel’s exciting, fantasy opera ALCINA at the Artscape Theatre from the 12th to the 16th of November. The opera is being directed by Matthew Wild who is widely recognised as the leading music theatre and opera director of…
6 Nov 2022 57 min

People of Note - Lisa Cumberledge

The world of bikers takes centre stage on People of Note this week. Not the noisy, aggressive type, but a group of friends who have fun riding their Harley Davidson motorcycles to interesting places together. They are members of First Free Chapter Cape Town, who number about 58. Apart from…
30 Oct 2022 57 min

People of Note - Ralph Schmitt

Since its inception in 2009, the Ndlovu Youth Choir has become one of the world’s most treasured ensembles. Their unique musical arrangements, powerhouse vocals, combined with mesmerising choreography and infectious energy have inspired millions across the globe. They were the first choir in history to make both America’s Got Talent…
23 Oct 2022 56 min

People of Note - Erika Marias

An important and powerful play is opening this week at the Baxter theatre. The play is called THE UNLIKELY SECRET AGENT and it has been adapted by Paul du Toit from Ronnie Kasrils’ Alan Paton Award novel of the same name. The play explores the brave journey of Ronnie’s wife,…
16 Oct 2022 56 min

People of Note - JOSE DIAS

Arguably one of the most charming operas in the repertoire is Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and you'll have a chance to see a production of it at the Theatre on The Bay from the 13th of October. It’s a Cape Town Opera production with the music performed on a piano by…
9 Oct 2022 58 min

People of Note - LEVY SEKGAPANE

One of the spectacular operatic success stories from South Africa is the exciting young tenor LEVY SEKGAPANE WHO STUDIED IN Cape Town, won the Belevedere Singing Competition, the Montserrat Caballe competition as well as the Placido Domingo competition known as Operalia. Levy has gone on to sing at the world’s…
2 Oct 2022 56 min
60 – 80