George Christie (opera manager)

Last updated

Sir George William Langham Christie CH DL (31 December 1934 – 7 May 2014) was a British opera administrator, long affiliated with Glyndebourne Opera. He was the son of John Christie and Audrey Mildmay. [1]

Christie attended Eton, and later Trinity College Cambridge, although he left without taking a degree. [2] He then worked at the Gulbenkian Foundation for five years, before returning to Glyndebourne. In 1962, following the death of his father, he took over the organisation.

During his tenure at Glyndebourne, Christie broadened the company's finances through increased corporate sponsorship. The company's repertoire also expanded, including commissions of new operas. He also oversaw the demolition of the old theatre and construction of the new theatre, over the period 1992–1994. [3] In addition, the company began its Glyndebourne Touring Opera (now Glyndebourne on Tour) in 1968, its first outreach ensemble. Christie retired from the company on 31 December 1999, and handed over control of the company to his son Gus Christie.

Christie was knighted in the 1984 Queen's Birthday Honours List and appointed a Companion of Honour in 2001. In 2013, he won a special Lifetime Achievement Award at the Opera Awards in London. [4]

Christie married Mary Nicholson in 1958. The couple had four children, Hector, Gus, Ptolemy and Louise. His widow and children all survived him. Hector Christie is the owner of Tapeley Park. Louise Flind joined the Glyndebourne board and Ptolemy Christie is a stage director. [5] [6] Lady Christie (the former Mary Nicholson) died of cancer of 2020 at the age of 83. [7]

Related Research Articles

Glyndebourne English country house in East Sussex, England

Glyndebourne is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundred years old and listed at grade II.

Peter Hall (director) English theatre and film director

Sir Peter Reginald Frederick Hall CBE, was an English theatre, opera and film director. His obituary in The Times declared him "the most important figure in British theatre for half a century" and on his death, a Royal National Theatre statement declared that Hall's "influence on the artistic life of Britain in the 20th century was unparalleled".

Edinburgh International Festival Scottish annual festival of performing arts

The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music and the performing arts are invited to join the festival. Visual art exhibitions, talks and workshops are also hosted.

<i>Albert Herring</i> 1947 opera by Benjamin Britten

Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.

Glyndebourne Festival Opera English opera festival

Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.

John Christie was an English landowner and theatrical producer. He was the founder of the Glyndebourne Opera House and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera at his home at Glyndebourne, near Lewes in Sussex in 1934.

Michael Grandage British theatre director (born 1962)

Michael Grandage CBE is a British theatre director and producer. He is currently Artistic Director of the Michael Grandage Company. From 2002 to 2012 he was Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse in London and from 2000 to 2005 he was Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres.

Donald Adams

Charles Donald Adams was an English opera singer and actor, best known for his performances in bass-baritone roles of the Savoy operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and his own company, Gilbert and Sullivan for All.

Carl Ebert

Carl Anton Charles Ebert, was an actor, stage director and arts administrator.

Graham Vick British opera director

Sir Graham Vick was an English opera director known for his experimental and revisionist stagings of traditional and modern operas. He worked in many of the world's leading opera houses and was artistic director of the Birmingham Opera Company.

Adam Birtwistle is a British artist whose idiosyncratic portraits of composers and musicians are represented in the National Portrait Gallery.

Stephen Plaice UK-based dramatist and scriptwriter (born 1951)

Stephen Plaice is a UK-based dramatist and scriptwriter who has written extensively for theatre, opera and television. In 2014 he was appointed Writer in Residence at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He became Professor of Dramatic Writing at the school in 2018.

Tapeley Historic estate in Devon, England

Tapeley is a historic estate in the parish of Westleigh in North Devon, England.

Grace Audrey Laura St John-Mildmay was an English and Canadian soprano and co-founder, with her husband, John Christie, of Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes her voice "as a light lyric soprano employed with much charm."

Anthony John Elwyn Besch was an English opera and theatre director. As a young man he worked at Glyndebourne assisting the directors Carl Ebert and Günther Rennert. His first work as an opera director was for Welsh National Opera in 1954. Among other British companies with whom he worked were Opera North, D'Oyly Carte, The Royal Opera, the Aldeburgh Festival and Garsington Opera. He was most closely associated with English National Opera, Scottish Opera, and the New Opera Company.

Peter Ebert German operatic director

Peter Ebert was a German opera director. Son of noted German director Carl Ebert who left Nazi Germany in 1934 with his son and moved to England, he was best known for his work with Glyndebourne Opera and the Scottish Opera where he staged over 50 productions from 1963 to 1980 and which brought him great success.

Michael Nicholas Snowman OBE is a British arts administrator and the chairman of the jewellers Wartski. In 2000, The Telegraph called him "one of the most influential figures in British classical music for the past 30 years".

Moran Victor Hingston Caplat, CBE was an English opera manager, associated throughout his career with Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

Louise Alder is a British lyric soprano. She won the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and the Young Singer award at the 2017 International Opera Awards. Her debut album of Strauss Lieder titled 'Through Life and Love' with pianist Joseph Middleton, was released in July 2017 with Orchid Classics.

<i>Glyndebourne Festival Opera: A Gala Evening</i>

Glyndebourne Festival Opera: A Gala Evening was a 111-minute concert staged by Glyndebourne Festival Opera on 24 July 1992, performed by Kim Begley, Montserrat Caballé, Cynthia Haymon, Felicity Lott, Benjamin Luxon, Ruggero Raimondi and Frederica von Stade with the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis and Sir Bernard Haitink. It was televised in the United Kingdom by the BBC and released on VHS Videocassette by Kultur Video and on DVD by Image Entertainment, Arthaus Musik and Geneon.

References

  1. ↑ "My opera debut: Sir George Christie". Gramophone. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Sir George Christie obituary". Telegraph. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. ↑ Martin Kettle (8 May 2014). "Sir George Christie obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Jonas Kaufmann wins best male opera singer award". BBC News. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Glyndebourne's generation game". Financial Times. 5 May 2008.
  6. ↑ "Opera, my new love and me". 5 April 2012.
  7. ↑ Lady Christie obituary
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.