Astra Blair (born 2 September 1932) is a British former opera singer, agent, and charity fundraiser.

Life and career

Blair was born Margaret Jean Waugh in India and educated in England and West Africa. After finishing school Blair took up a scholarship at The

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

with singing as her principal study. Her professional debut was as a

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

with

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

; she later joined the Sadlers Wells Opera, which became the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

. In 1954 she married the opera singer

Raimund Herincx Raimund Frederick Herincx (23 August 1927 in LondonGrove, ''Herincx, Raimund'' – 10 February 2018), was a British operatic bass-baritone. Through a varied international career, Herincx performed in most of the world's great opera houses and with ...

and had three children. In 1972 she established Music and Musicians Artists' Management, an operatic and concert agency in London. Early in her musical career Blair and her husband converted part of their

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

home into a small concert hall and founded the Quinville Concerts Trust to raise funds for disabled children.Evan Senior (ed.)
''Music and Musicians'', Volume 18
Hansom Books, 1969, pp. 51, 59, 71

Sir Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

and

Sir Charles Groves Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE (10 March 191520 June 1992) was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors. After accompanying positions and conducting ...

became joint presidents of the Trust and for 13 years international musicians, singers and actors took part in its concerts, raising money to provide equipment, specialised transport, holidays and leisure activities to children with disabilities. The Trust, with support from

British Steel Corporation British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

, helped to finance and develop the Quinville caliper for disabled children, which was used at

Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was established ...

. Together with

Line Renaud Line Renaud (born Jacqueline Ente on 2 July 1928) is a French singer, actress and AIDS activist. In her 80 year career, she has appeared in 86 films and TV films, released 25 albums and 114 singles. She has also appeared in 12 plays and written ...

, founder of the French Association des Artistes contre le SIDA, Blair organized a "Gala Franco-Brittanique" at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

in Paris to raise money for the fight against

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. Much of the money raised was donated to the newly founded National Aids Trust. Blair founded the British charity "Association of Artists Against Aids" with her colleague, the English tenor Peter Jeffes; she attracted as patrons

June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair Beatrice Mary June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, , FRSAMD (née Boissier; 29 December 1913 – 22 June 2009), commonly known as Lady Aberdeen, was a professional musician and patron of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival an ...

Kate Adie Kathryn Adie (born 19 September 1945) is an English journalist. She was Chief News Correspondent for BBC News between 1989 and 2003, during which time she reported from war zones around the world. She retired from the BBC in early 2003 and ...

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

, Jane Glover,

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, comedian and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (28 March 1935 – 16 August 2023) was an English television presenter, broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other ta ...

, Jeffrey Tate and

Fay Weldon Fay Weldon (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including ''Puffball'' (1980), '' The Cloning o ...

. Following the Paris gala, Blair was asked, as representative of the Association of Artists Against Aids to organise a Royal Gala at the

Drury Lane Theatre The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dru ...

benefit for the National Aids Trust. Blair devoted the gala to the music of Stephen Sondheim, who attended as guest of honour. The show, named "Being Alive", featured international artists, film stars, musicians, TV personalities, opera singers and conductors and raised substantial funds for the Milestone Aids Hospice in Edinburgh. Blair subsequently organised five other major fundraisers and the recording of ''An Anthology of English Song'' by major artists from the Royal Opera House to support the Milestone Aids Hospice. Blair also raised funds for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and for Queen Charlotte's Children's Hospital, serving for three years (one as vice-president) on the organising committee for the Queen Charlotte's Birthday Ball.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Astra Living people 1932 births Charity fundraisers (people) 20th-century British women opera singers British operatic mezzo-sopranos