Programme Details

You will have heard about the Da Vinci Code - it's been inescapable - but what about the Michelangelo Code? Look at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and a whole secret history - and the identity of the man who will herald the end of the earth - will be revealed. That's the theory of Waldemar Januzszak, whose film The Michelangelo Code, goes out on Channel 4 shortly. He joins Isabel Hilton and Geraldine Johnson to discuss his discovery, and debate whether the obsession with codes in art has gone too far? After all, isn't all art a code just waiting for be unravelled?

Albert Einstein said we all dance to an invisible tune. Physics and dance become true partners when this country's oldest contemporary dance company, Ballet Rambert, premiere Constant Speed , inspired by two of the great physicist's scientific theories. The acclaimed choreographer and artistic director of Ballet Rambert, Mark Baldwin, talks about E=MC squared and how it can inspire movement beyond your wildest dreams.

The Magic Flute is the most performed opera in the world, but what will a first time director from the Royal Shakespeare Company make of it when he puts it on the stage at Welsh National Opera? The opera critic Anthony Holden delivers his verdict.

Another verdict too - this time on another great masterpiece. This time - in the theatre. The celebrated American actor Brian Dennehey is in the lead role in Death of a Salesman, which opens on Monday night in London. The great American specialist Christopher Bigsby gives the first verdict, fresh from the theatre as the curtain falls, as to whether this is the definitive performance of Arthur Miller's play.

And - The Rules of Perspective - a new novel by Adam Thorpe. The author talks to Isabel Hilton about art and ethics, and how painting can reveal new moralities and connections.

Night Waves live at 9.30pm, here on BBC Radio 3


Presenter: Isabel Hilton
Producer: Ariane Koek



Additional Information
1) The Rules of Perspective by Adam Thorpe is published by Jonathan Cape
2) Constant Speed by Ballet Rambert is at the Sadler's Well's Theatre on May 24.
3) The Michelangelo Code is on Channel 4 on May 21.
4) Death of a Salesman is at the Lyric Theatre in London until August 6.
5) The Magic Flute is at Welsh National Opera Cardiff, and runs until May 25 and then goes on tour, ending up in Oxford. For further details www.wno.org.uk