# The rock star architect of the Baroque age, Sir John Vanbrugh

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/front-row-944015/the-rock-star-architect-of-the-baroque-age-sir-john-vanbrugh
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/front-row-944015/the-rock-star-architect-of-the-baroque-age-sir-john-vanbrugh.md
Podcast: [Front Row](https://stenobird.com/podcast/front-row-944015)
Published: 2026-05-12T19:30:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002w5v4
Audio file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0nkv8f8.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/front-row-944015/episodes/the-rock-star-architect-of-the-baroque-age-sir-john-vanbrugh
Duration seconds: 2538

## Resource

This year marks the tercentenary of polymath Sir John Vanbrugh, regarded as the rockstar architect of the Baroque era. Art historian Sir Charles Saumerez Smith, co-curator of the Vanbrugh exhibition at the Sir John Soane’s Museum, and Rory Fraser who is writing a biography on Vanbrugh, discuss the man happy creating dramas for the British stage and dramatic buildings on the British landscape. Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid is known for her distinctive brightly coloured paintings of black characters. She reflects on representing Great Britain at this year's Venice Biennale, and her ambition as a painter to capture the awkward moment. Marking tonight's first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, television critic Scott Bryan assesses this year's runners and riders aiming to win the song for Europe. Theatre and opera director Kip Williams on directing the UK premiere of the Pulitzer prize-winning opera Angel's Bone which has its UK premiere in Manchester tonight. Fresh from directing one-woman shows with Cynthia Erivo in Dracula, and Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray, he talks about juggling the challenges of a contemporary genre-fusing opera. Presented by Nick Ahad Produced by Ekene Akalawu

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## Transcript

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