Asked who my dream dinner party guests are, I never fail to put Rudolf Bing and Peter Sellars at the top of my guest list. 

How fascinating it would be to hear them swap anecdotes about their experiences – Bing as the founding Director of the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947 and later General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1950 until 1972; Sellars as a prolific opera director who has also headed up festivals including the Venice Theatre Biennale and our very own Adelaide Festival. 

Although their careers didn’t overlap (Bing retired in 1972, eight years before Sellars graduated from Harvard), they shared similar values. 

Bing sought to reunite people through the arts after WWII; Sellars continues to foster community, championing social cohesion and economic justice. Bing believed the arts transcend political boundaries; Sellars believes they serve a civic...