David Charles Abell (born 1958) is an American conductor of opera, orchestral music and musical theater. Described as "a protean talent" with "impeccable and inspired" skill as a conductor, he is active in
symphonic music
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...
, opera and musical theatre. Abell was one of
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
's last protégés, and collaborated with Bernstein on many works during the 1980s.
Abell is known for his television appearances worldwide as conductor of the ''Les Misérables''' 10th and 25th Anniversary concerts. He is also recognized as an authoritative interpreter of the musicals of
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...
.
In addition to maintaining an active international opera career, Abell has worked to restore clarity to musical scores with poorly preserved source materials. As of 2017, Abell is a resident of London.
Early life and education
Born in
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...
, Abell was raised in the
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and Chicago areas, studying viola, piano,
organ
Organ and organs may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function
* Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body.
Musical instruments
...
, trumpet and voice. As a member of the Berkshire Boy Choir, he sang in the 1971 world premiere of
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...
's
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
at the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
. The experience sparked his interest in theatrical compositions and fuelled a lasting passion for dramatic music.Ford, Piers. Interview with David Charles Abell, Conductor of the 2010 Sondheim Prom , ''The Art of the Torch Singer'', January 6, 2011. Retrieved on October 19, 2011.
In 1976, Abell enrolled at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where his teachers included
John Mauceri
John Francis Mauceri (born September 12, 1945) is an American conductor, actor, producer, arranger, voice actor, educator, writer and music composer. Since making his professional conducting debut almost half a century ago, he has appeared with ...
and Rob Kapilow. He studied with
Nadia Boulanger
Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...
American Conservatory
The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''.
History
When the American Expeditionary Forces entered the First World War, the command ...
in
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...
before returning to Yale to complete his
B.A.
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...
in 1981.
Early professional career
In 1982, Abell participated in the inaugural Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute summer school, studying with Bernstein and Daniel Lewis. He continued his postgraduate training from 1983 to 1985 at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
under
Jorge Mester
Jorge Mester (born April 10, 1935, Mexico City) is a Mexican conductor of Hungarian ancestry.
He has served as the artistic director for the Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río, Veracruz, since it was founded in 2014.
Biography
He studied condu ...
and
Sixten Ehrling
Evert Sixten Ehrling (3 April 1918 – 13 February 2005) was a Swedish conductor and pianist who, during a long career, served as the music director of the Royal Swedish Opera and the principal conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, am ...
Abell made his professional debut conducting Bernstein's Mass at Berlin's
Deutschlandhalle
Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend (Berlin), Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 20 ...
in 1982. The following year he deputized at short notice for John Mauceri conducting
Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...
. In 1985 he made his
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
debut conducting ''
The Mikado
''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
''. Abell led
San Francisco Opera
The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California.
History
Gaetano Merola (1923–1953)
Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...
's 1989 national tour of ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'' and was conductor for City Opera's national tour of ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...
'' in 1994.
Collaborative work with Leonard Bernstein
One of Leonard Bernstein's last protégés, he assisted the composer-conductor on many projects during the 1980s and helped prepare definitive editions of Bernstein's musical theatre scores.
Work since 1996
Since moving to London in 1996, Abell has conducted orchestras in the UK and abroad, including
The Hallé
The Hallé is an English symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. Since 1996, the orchestra has been resident at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.
History
19th century
In May 1857, the pianist and conductor Charles Hallé set u ...
,
City of Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
,
Bournemouth
Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...
,
London Philharmonic
The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the exist ...
,
BBC Symphony
The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...
,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...
,
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) () is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both ...
,
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera.
History
Beginnings
The orchest ...
,
Hong Kong Philharmonic
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra based in Hong Kong. Colloquially referred to as the HKPO or HKPhil (), the orchestra was first established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Sino-British Orchestra (), ...
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...
, with whom he has appeared five times at
the Proms
The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
Cincinnati Opera
Cincinnati Opera is an American opera company based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the second-oldest opera company in the United States (after the New York Metropolitan Opera). Beginning with its first season in 1920, Cincinnati Opera has produced opera ...
(''
Porgy and Bess
''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...
''),
Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Lyric Opera of Kansas City is an American opera company located in Kansas City, Missouri.
Founded in 1958 by conductor Russell Patterson, the company presents an annual season of four operas at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Prod ...
(''
Silent Night
"Silent Night" () is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO
The United Nations Educati ...
''),
Opera Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia is an American opera company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the company is the only artistic company in Philadelphia that produces grand opera. The company produces o ...
(''
Die Zauberflöte
''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
''), and
Hawaii Opera Theatre
The Hawaii Opera Theatre (HOT) is the islands' only major opera company established in 1960. The company performs three or more operas in a season. Opera seasons start in October and end in the early summer of the following year. It performs mostly ...
(''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...
'').
Musical theatre
The driving force behind Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday celebration at the 2010 BBC Proms, Abell subsequently conducted the 25th anniversary concert of ''Les Misérables'' at the
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to:
*The O2 Arena, London
* O2 Arena, Prague
*The 3Arena, Dublin, formerly known as The O2
*The Uber Arena, Berlin, formerly known as O2 World
*The Barclays Arena
Barclays Arena (originally known as the Color Line Arena an ...
, which has been seen worldwide on television and released on DVD. Both the 25th and 10th Anniversary concerts have been extensively broadcast by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
to boost fund-raising efforts.
Abell was Music Director of the West End production of
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...
's '' Love Never Dies'' from its opening in March 2010 until March 2011. Between 2011 and 2014, he conducted the French premieres of four Sondheim musicals: ''
Follies
''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman.
The plot centers on a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Follies ...
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...
'' and ''
Sunday in the Park with George
''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La G ...
'' and ''
Into the Woods
''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.
The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...
'' at the
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.
One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...
in Paris.
Abell conducted London's
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
s ceremony from 2011 to 2014. He has appeared twice at
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 ...
, conducting ''
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...
'' with
Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel Jones (; born 9 November 1965), is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''Don Giovanni,'' but he has subsequ ...
and
Emma Thompson
Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Emma Thompson on screen and stage, Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Emma Thompson, her accola ...
in 2015 and ''
Carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
'' with
Alfie Boe
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre.
Boe is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre ...
and
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Philly Pops since his debut in 2013, Abell released a Christmas CD with them in 2015 and was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the organization in 2017. He served as Music Director and Principal Conductor from 2020 to 2023. He made his
Boston Pops
The Boston Pops is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart.
Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orc ...
debut in 2016 with an all-Gershwin concert.
Music scholarship
Abell has helped restore clarity to musical theatre scores affected by accretions of revival productions and poorly preserved source materials, notably ''
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents.
Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...
''. Along with pianist and musicologist Seann Alderking, he edited a complete edition of
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...
's ''
Kiss Me, Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Bella and Samuel Spewack. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off- ...
'', published in 2014. It is one of the first American musicals to be published in a
critical edition
Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts (mss) or of printed books. Such texts may range i ...