Christopher Webber (born 27 May 1953) is an English

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Biography

Webber was born in Bowdon,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

(now

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

) and educated at The Manchester Grammar School and the

University of Kent at Canterbury A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. Starting his professional career with theatre directing work, for companies such as Orpheus Opera (of which he was Artistic Director 1980–87),

Kent Opera Kent Opera was a British opera company active between 1969 and 1989. It was based in Ashford and regular venues included The Orchard Theatre, Dartford; Assembly Halls, Tunbridge Wells; Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury; Kings Theatre, Southsea; Theatr ...

, the new

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...

in Britain and the USA, and various other English companies, he soon broadened his portfolio to include musical journalism, as Opera and Classical Music Editor for

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and controlled 5 companies remaining of once more than 400. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneu ...

's Event Magazine, as well as

Music and Musicians Hansom Books was a British publisher founded in 1947 by Philip Dosse to produce the magazine ''Dance and Dancers''. Magazines in a similar format were then founded to cover mainly other performing artforms, all seven magazines eventually being k ...

Magazine. As a writer, his early work included ''Bluff Your Way at the Races'' (Ravette) as well as many opera translations into English. Play commissions soon followed, beginning with a new English version of

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

's ''

Philoctetes Philoctetes ( ''Philoktētēs''; , ), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea (Magnesia), Meliboea in Thessaly, and Demonassa or Methone (Greek myth), Methone. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer ...

'' written for Offstage Downstairs. Later successes include ''Tatyana'' commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse, with

Josie Lawrence Josie Lawrence (born Wendy Lawrence; 6 June 1959) is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' and as Manda Best in ...

in the title role, and Beverly Klein as her sister Olga; '' Dr Sullivan and Mr Gilbert'' (

Mull Theatre Mull Little Theatre was a theatre on the Isle of Mull in the Inner Scottish Hebrides. Built from the shell of an old byre (cowshed) in 1963 by Barrie and Marianne Hesketh, it began as the Thursday Theatre, an entertainment for the paying guests ...

, revived at Glasgow Citizens' Theatre and on tour throughout Scotland); and ''Green Tea'', shortlisted for a Guinness Prize. He is an authority on the Spanish

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

, and his book ''The Zarzuela Companion'' (

Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns ...

2002, Foreword by

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

) is a standard English work on the subject. He contributed the chapter on zarzuela to ''The Cambridge Companion to Operetta'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

2019); has written on

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

and Portuguese Music for ''

The Oxford Companion to Music ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' is a music reference book in the series of Oxford Companions produced by the Oxford University Press. It was originally conceived and written by Percy Scholes and published in 1938. Since then, it has undergo ...

'', ''

Opera Magazine ''Opera'' is a monthly British magazine devoted to covering all things related to opera. It contains reviews and articles about current opera productions internationally, as well as articles on opera recordings, opera singers, opera companies, op ...

'', '' Opera Now'', Royal Opera

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

and many other publications; has provided programme notes and translations for many concert and festival organisations including the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

Wexford Festival Wexford Festival Opera () is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in south-eastern Ireland during the months of October and November. Festival origins, growth and development Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966 Tom Walsh, an avid o ...

and

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

; and been Visiting Lecturer on the subject at various academic institutions, including the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

and

University of Valencia The University of Valencia ( ), shortened to UV, is a public research university in Valencia, Spain. It is one of the oldest universities in Spain, and the oldest in the Valencian Community. It is regarded as one of Spain's leading academic i ...

. For

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

's Bibliographies project, he wrote and curates th
article on zarzuela (2016)
In December 2022, he was appointed Editor (with Enrique Mejías García) of the ''

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

History of Spanish Opera and Music Theatre''. He is also an advisory editor and contributor to the ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', having written over forty entries including those on his Manchester Grammar School contemporary

Steven Pimlott Steven Charles Pimlott (18 April 1953 – 14 February 2007) was an English opera and theatre director, whose obituary in ''The Times'' hailed him as "one of the most versatile and inventive theatre directors of his generation". His output ran t ...

, Sir Jimmy Young and

Joyce Hatto Joyce Hilda Hatto (5 September 1928 – 29 June 2006) was an English concert pianist and piano teacher. In 1956 she married William Barrington-Coupe, a record producer who was convicted of Purchase Tax evasion in 1966. Hatto became famous very ...

. Webber has since been featured on British TV's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, in documentaries about Hatto, "the fraudster pianist". As an actor, he has worked in England's West End and Repertory Theatre, creating the role of Owl in the first stage version of ''

Winnie-the-Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

'' (London

Royalty Theatre The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938.

and national tour) and taking part in world and/or international premières of plays by

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. As of 2025, he has written and produced 90 full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen ...

and

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. He has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards. In 2005 he received the Socie ...

amongst others. He has also been an exponent in the field of corporate and medical professional actor-based

roleplaying Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...

, especially noted for his work on development of feedback techniques, including his formulation of Advocate Feedback.Andrew Baguley,

Plays

*''

'' (1987, based on

) *'' Green Isle'' (1989) *'' Love and Politics'' (1990, based on

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

Kabale und Liebe ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was first performed ...

) *''

Tatyana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Origin Tatiana is a feminine, diminutive derivative of the Sabine—and later Latin� ...

'' (1990) *'' Birth of an Opera, Death of a Composer'' (1990) *''

Green Tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...

'' (1993, rev. 2000) (Couthurst Press 2000, ) *'' Dr Sullivan and Mr Gilbert'' (1993) (Couthurst Press 2001, ) *'' Mozart and Salieri'' (1993, after

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is conside ...

) *'' A Flower and a Kiss'' (commissioned

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

, 1995) *'' The Girl with the Roses'' (1999, after

Pablo Sorozábal Pablo Sorozábal Mariezcurrena (18 September 1897 – 26 December 1988) was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas, operas, symphonic works, and the popular ''romanza'', " No puede ser". He was born in San Sebastián, in a working-class family. T ...

's La del manojo de rosas) *''

The Stronger ''The Stronger'' () is an 1889 Swedish play by August Strindberg. The play consists of only one scene. The characters are two women of which only one speaks; an example of a dramatic monologue. The importance of the silent character in a situ ...

'' (2010, zarzuela after

Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 play ...

, with Derek Barnes ''composer'')

Books

*'' Bluff Your Way in Opera'' (Ravette, 1989, with

Peter Gammond Peter Gammond (30 September 1925 – 6 May 2019) was a British music critic, writer, journalist, musician, poet, and artist. Peter Gammond was born in Winnington, Northwich, Cheshire. The son of John Thomas Gammond (1892–1970), a clerk, a ...

) *'' Bluff Your Way At the Races'' (Ravette, 1990) *'' The Zarzuela Companion'' (Scarecrow Press Inc., 2002) Lib. Cong. 2002110168 / *''

'' (OUP, 2002 ed. Alison Latham; major contributor) *'' Zarzuela!'' (UME, from 2001 '' vols.''ed.) *'The alcalde, the negro and la bribona: género ínfimo zarzuela, 1900–1910' in '' De la zarzuela al cine. Los medios de comunicación populares y su traducción de la voz marginal'' (München, Martin Meidenbauer, 2010 ed. Max Doppelbauer and Kathrin Sartingen) *'Chapí, "el gran camaleón"' in ''Ruperto Chapí: nuevas perspectivas Vol.1'' (Valencia, Institut de la Música, 2012 ed. Víctor Sánchez Sánchez ''et al.'') *'Under the Influence: Pablo Luna and opereta española' in '' El teatro de arte'' (Madrid, Fundación Guerrero, 2016 ed. Alberto González Lapuente and Alberto Honrado Pinilla) *'Zarzuela', Chapter 8 in ''So You Want to Sing Light Opera'' (Washington DC, Rowman & Littlefield, 2017 ed. Linda Lister) *'Spain and Zarzuela' in ''

The Cambridge Companion to Operetta ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' (Cambridge, University Press, 2019 ed. Anastasia Belina and Derek B. Scott) * '¿Fruta podrida? Nuevas perspectivas sobre la zarzuela ínfima en Madrid (1900-1912)' in ''Música, escena y cine (1896-1978): diálogos y sinergias en la España del siglo XX'' (Hispanic Music Series 5, Universidad de Oviedo, 2021 ed. Miriam Perandones and María Encina Cortizo)

References

External links

*

Zarzuela.Net website (founder/editor) – biographical page

Sir Arnold Bax website (major contributor) {{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Christopher 1953 births English dramatists and playwrights English male stage actors Living people Male actors from Cheshire Alumni of the University of Kent English male dramatists and playwrights People educated at Manchester Grammar School Actors from Altrincham