“Sir Graham Vick, the internationally acclaimed opera director, has died from complications of Covid-19, at the age of 67,” reads an unsigned obituary in Sunday’s (7/18) Guardian (U.K.). “The news was announced by Birmingham Opera Company, of which he was artistic director. He made exciting and experimental stagings at opera houses across the world, and had spells as director of productions at Scottish Opera and Glyndebourne before founding the Birmingham company in 1987. He was knighted in the 2021 new year honors…. In a tweet released on Saturday, Birmingham Opera Company said it was devastated to announce Vick’s death. The company has become well known for its extensive outreach program, performing shows in unusual locations … to non-traditional opera audiences.… Vick was born in Birkenhead, Merseyside, in 1953 and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 2016, he gave the keynote speech at the Royal Philharmonic Society awards…. He … memorably implored classical musical proponents to ‘get out of our ghetto’ to reach audiences and shape the future of music. ‘You do not need to be educated to be touched, to be moved and excited by opera.’ ” A separate Guardian article describes ten of Vick’s productions, including Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, his final staging at Birmingham Opera Company in March 2019.
Change font size
