Richard Bonynge
Richard Bonynge | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Alan Bonynge 29 September 1930 Epping, New South Wales, Australia |
Occupation(s) | Conductor, pianist |
Years active | 1962–present[1] |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Richard Alan Bonynge
Biography
Bonynge was born in
His debut as an opera conductor took place in 1963 in Vancouver, where he conducted Faust. The same year, also in Vancouver, he conducted Norma for the first time, starring Sutherland and Marilyn Horne.[6] He also conducted the English Chamber Orchestra in many recordings.[7]
By doing some research and reading up on
In 1977 he was the founding music director of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra,[9] when he conducted Le roi de Lahore staged there (in which his wife also took part).[10]
Bonynge made his Metropolitan Opera debut on 12 December 1966, and his last performance there was on 6 April 1991. Most of those performances he conducted there between 1966 and 1987 were with Sutherland singing. From the 1960s until the early 1970s, his speciality was music of 18th and early 19th century, mostly in bel canto repertoire of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Bonynge then gradually added also middle Verdi (La traviata, Rigoletto, Il trovatore), Offenbach (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), then also Massenet (Esclarmonde and Werther[11]).
Bonynge has recorded extensively in the ballet genre: Delibes's three ballets – La Source, Coppélia, Sylvia; Riccardo Drigo's The Magic Flute and Le Réveil de Flore; Jacques Offenbach's Le papillon; Friedrich Burgmüller's La Péri; and Tchaikovsky's three ballets – Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker.[12] One of Bonynge's most valuable contributions to ballet music is a 10 CD "Compendium of Ballet Rarities" which have been rarely recorded but are often performed by established ballet companies, such as several famous Pas de deux and ballets performed in operas.
His recordings also include some works with no operatic or balletic associations, such as the Harp Concerto in E-flat by Reinhold Glière, with harpist Osian Ellis.
Commencing in 2007, he has conducted a series of performances in a few opera houses around the U.S. (
He lives in Les Avants, Switzerland and maintains a home in Sydney.[1][15]
Videography
- The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala (1983), Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538
Honours and awards
Bonynge was made a
On 26 January 2012, Bonynge was promoted within the Order of Australia to Companion, for "eminent service to the performing arts as an acclaimed conductor and musical scholar, to classical singing and the promotion of opera, and through the collection and preservation of operatic manuscripts."[1][2]
ARIA Music Awards
The
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Amoureuse: Sacred and Profane Arias (with Rosamund Illing and Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra) | Best Classical Album | Nominated | [16] |
2006 | Piano Concertos: Tchaikovsky, Grieg (with The Queensland Orchestra )
|
Nominated |
Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
The Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Richard Bonynge | Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award | awarded | [17] |
References
- ^ a b c Burke, Kelly (26 January 2012). "Companion piece for Bonynge completes rare double". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Bonynge, Richard Alan". It's an Honour, Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Richard Bonynge AC CBE". Melba Recordings. 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Richard Bonynge: The artist as a young man". FainFaire. 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Richard Bonynge: Maestro of bel canto". FainFaire. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ Vancouver Opera – History: mainstage productions
- ^ "English Chamber Orchestra: Conductor: Richard Bonynge". Arkiv Music.com. 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ Sutherland, Joan (2 November 2006). "Interview with Dame Joan Sutherland" (telephone, web transcript). Interviewed by Purdy, Christopher. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ Until that moment Vancouver Opera company used Vancouver Symphony Orchestra musicians to play in the pit
- ^ Vancouver Opera – History: VOO and Chorus
- ^ "Database search: Bonynge". The Metropolitan Opera Archives. 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Richard Bonynge, conductor: Biography". Colbert Artists. June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Our artists: Conductors". Opera Australia. 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Richard Bonynge, Conductor: Schedule". Operabase. 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ Kelly, Patricia (December 2005). "Bonynge looking to his Irish roots". Opera~Opera. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ ARIA Award previous winners. "ARIA Awards – Winners by Award". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- ^ "Maestro Richard Bonynge chosen for 2009 Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award" (Press release). University of Melbourne. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
External links
- Image of Dame Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge, performing at Opera in the Park – taken by Don McMurdo and held in the National Library of Australia
- Image of Dame Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti on stage with Richard Bonynge, performing at the Sydney Opera House in 1983 – taken by Don McMurdo and held in the National Library of Australia
- WNIB, Classical 97. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- Index page to the Dame Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge ephemera collection – held in the National Library of Australia
- Colbert Artists Management Inc.