Stephen Oliver (composer)
Stephen Michael Harding Oliver (10 March 1950 – 29 April 1992) was an English composer, best known for his operas.
Early life and education
Oliver was born on 10 March 1950 in Chester, the son of (Charlotte Hester) (née Girdlestone, born 1911), a religious education adviser, and Osborne George Oliver (born 1903), an electricity board official. His maternal great-grandfather was William Boyd Carpenter, a Bishop of Ripon and a court chaplain to Queen Victoria.[1]
Oliver was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School, Ardingly College and at Worcester College, Oxford, where he read music under Kenneth Leighton and Robert Sherlaw Johnson. His first opera, The Duchess of Malfi (1971), was staged while he was still at Oxford.
Career
Later works include incidental music for the
He was a good friend of
In Tony Palmer's film Wagner (1982–83), Oliver can be seen playing the part of conductor Hans Richter and conducting in the pit of Richard Wagner's theatre at Bayreuth.
Other activities
Oliver was a frequent guest on BBC Radio 4's light discussion programme Stop the Week.
Death and legacy
He died in London on 29 April 1992, aged 42, of
In 2006, Oliver's archive of original scores and papers was presented to the British Library by his family.[citation needed]
His nephew is comedian and TV host
Stephen Oliver Trust
Oliver left most of his estate
- to encourage the creation, promotion and performance of contemporary opera; and
- to encourage young people working in contemporary opera.
The trust established the Stephen Oliver Prize, a biennial award of £10,000 launched in 1994, awarded to given to a young composer for a new work of
After the competitions, the trust turned its attention to supporting compositions and occasional performances by contemporary opera companies. In 2006, the trustees decided to lodge the capital funds within the
References
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/51267. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2016. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Kozinn, Allan (7 May 1992). "Stephen Oliver, 42, a Composer Of Operas and Theater Music". New York Times. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ Kamp, David (2 January 2014). "John Oliver Is Horrified by Massages and Is a "Committed Coward": What You Should Know About the Host of *Last Week Tonight*". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "News". Stephen Oliver. 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
Further reading
- Holden, Amanda; ISBN 0-670-81292-7
- "Friendships in Constant Repair": perspectives on the life and work of Stephen Oliver. ISBN 978-1-84876-534-4
External links
- Official Stephen Oliver website
- Stephen Oliver at IMDb
- Composer page at ChesterNovello.com
- BBC Shakespeare
- The Stephen Oliver Archive at the British Library
- Works by Stephen Oliver at Project Gutenberg