Front Row Folgen

Soprano Joyce DiDonato on tackling the vocal pyrotechnics of Rossini and why she's bringing opera to the inmates of Sing Sing, New York's maximum security prison.Puppets are currently centre stage in three theatrical productions in the UK - Pinocchio at the National Theatre, The Grinning Man in the West End and The Tin Drum on tour. We speak to Toby Olié, in charge of puppetry on Pinocchio and Tom Morris, director of The Grinning Man who, as co-director of War Horse, changed the way puppets are regarded. Kirsty also hears from from actors Sanne den Besten and Louis Maskell about how they work with puppets to show them falling in love. Plus, as the European Commission announce that the UK will no longer be able to take part in the 2023 European Capital of Culture as planned, we look at the impact this has on the bidding cities and what it signifies for the arts industry as Britain continues the process of leaving the European Union.

Benjamin Clementine performs live from his second album I Tell a Fly. He tells us why an experimental concept album felt like the right way follow up to his Mercury Prize winning 'At Least For Now'.Dominic Dromgoole on his year long Oscar Wilde season in London's West End, and Franny Moyle on the influence of the women in Oscar Wilde's life.David LaChapelle is the celebrity photographer of choice for leading fashion magazines. His first job was working as a photographer for Andy Warhol in New York. He discusses his hyper-realistic style, nudity, and how some of the biggest names in the world from Hillary Clinton to Kim Kardashian beat a path to his door.Presenter: Stig Abell Producer: Helen Fitzhenry(Main photo: Benjamin Clementine Credit: Craig McDean).

Inua Ellams on his acclaimed play Barber Shop Chronicles, which explores masculinity from the perspective of the barber's chair, both in London and Africa. Tennis champion Billie Jean King's show match against notorious chauvinist Bobby Riggs in 1973 is the subject of a new film Battle of the Sexes, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell. Mark Eccleston reviews.Briony Hanson discusses Godless, Netflix's first western miniseries, starring Jack O'Connell, Jeff Daniels and Michelle Dockery, in a role that is a far cry from Downton Abbey. This year marks the centenary of the birth of the Cornish poet Charles Causley, whose work was influenced by ballads, hymns and his love of jazz and dance bands. Cahal Dallat, the first Charles Causley Trust musician in residence, poet Rory Waterman and singer Jim Causley discuss his legacy. Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Timothy Prosser.