Michael Shmith

Michael Shmith (born 7 July 1949) is an Australian journalist and writer.

He was born on 7 July[1] 1949,[2] the son of Athol Shmith and his wife Patricia "Bambi" née Tuckwell (they later divorced). He worked at The Age in Melbourne from 1981 until 1995, when he became communications director for the Australian Ballet.[3] Shmith was then a senior writer for The Age[4] and its arts editor from 1985 to 1993. From 2010 to 2017 he was the paper's opera critic. He resigned from the position in August 2017 alleging it was over a disagreement with The Age's arts editor who had no space left to publish an unsolicited review.[5]

He edited the 1999 Ebury Publishing edition of The New Pocket Kobbé's Opera Book with his stepfather George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood.[6]

  1. ^ "Mahler on my mind" by Michael Shmith, The Age, 10 July 2010, A2, 19]. Retrieved 4 February 2016
  2. ^ The Peerage: Michael Smith. Retrieved 4 February 2016
  3. ^ "Authors 2009 – Michael Shmith". 2009 Festival Archive. Melbourne Writers Festival. August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. ^ Christopher Pearson (30 April 2011). "Wedding ban attracts immature reaction". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  5. ^ "Why I quit as opera critic of The Age" by Michael Shmith, Australian Book Review, 14 August 2017
  6. ^ "The New Pocket Kobbé's Opera Book / edited by the Earl of Harwood with Michael Shmith". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2013.