Around the Music Festival

British director Graham Vick died on July 17th in complications of a new coronavirus infection. He was 67 years old. He is one of the most active directors in the world.

He was born in Birkenhead, a port city near Liverpool, he studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. At age 24, he directed a production of Holst’s chamber opera “Savitr” for Scottish Opera, and became the company’s director in 1984.

After then He founded the Birmingham Opera Company in 1987, and became artistic director himself. He made his debut at the Royal Opera in 1989.

Since then, he has produced numerous productions at well-known opera houses. He became artistic director of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1994, and he served until 2000.

Among his past works, Wagner’s “The Ring of the Nibelung” at the Teatro Massimo Palermo, Wagner “Tristan und Isolde” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Verdi ‘s “Otello” at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and Shostakovich’s “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, has received high praise.

However, he has worked on so many productions that it is difficult to list his masterpieces, and some productions have already started directing, such as this year’s Verdi Festival’s “Un Ballo in Maschera”. Also, many of his productions have been visualized.

He was awarded the Order of the British Empire Second Order (KBE / DBE) for the 2021 New Year’s Honors this year. He was also awarded the title of Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. He was also an honorary music professor at the University of Birmingham.

Photo：Birmingham Opera Company


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