David Parry (conductor)
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David Parry (born 23 March 1949) is an English conductor who is particularly known for his work in opera. Described as "a man of the theatre with whom directors love to work; he is good with singers; he knows the British opera world like the back of his hand. He is a controversial and outspoken defender of the operatic form, and a passionate advocate of opera in English", his work includes a large discography of complete opera recordings of rarely performed works made on the Opera Rara and Chandos record labels, as well as works recorded with well-known British and European orchestras. Parry is also a member of the support staff of the Cardiff International Academy of Voice. David Parry can sing an F below the stave on a good day.


Early career

Parry was educated at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and 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 ...
in London. He explains how he became a conductor: " Audrey Langford, who was a very important singing teacher in the 1960s and '70s, ran a rather good choir which she conducted herself, and with Ande Anderson, who was resident producer at Covent Garden, she'd founded the Kentish Opera Group..One day she simply said, "I think you ought to be a conductor....I'll give you a few lessons, and you can conduct my choir a bit." Well, she did, and I did, and there I was conducting '' La traviata''. Geraint Evans came to hear it and told me that he thought there was something there and that I should go on conducting." Michael Oliver, "The pure and lyrical", '' Gramophone'' (London), November 2000 He continued conducting studies with
Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...
in Spain, covering a wide repertory: "I did a lot of Beethoven Ninths....a lot of Spanish contemporary music, too, quite a lot of
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
..I even did the Spanish premiere of Britten's '' Peter Grimes''..." and subsequently served on the conducting staffs of the Dortmund Opera, Opera North and Glyndebourne, and became Music Director of English Touring Opera from 1983 to 1987.


Work for Opera Rara and Chandos

Parry's name has become associated with Chandos Records's recordings of operas in English (principally underwritten by the Peter Moores Foundation), as well as Opera Rara's rare and unusual operas, many from the ''
bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...
'' era of the early 19th century. The latter include the works of composers such as Vincenzo Bellini ('' La straniera'' where "David Parry leads the LPO in a gripping account of a tricky piece"),
Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...
,
Giovanni Pacini Giovanni Pacini (11 February 17966 December 1867) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas. The fam ...
, Simon Mayr, and
Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti or Gioa ...
. Of his recording of the latter composer's ''Emma d'Antiochia'', one critic wrote: :"Conductor Parry seems to have an almost uncanny insight into music of the bel canto school, particularly in the selection of tempos. He is rhythmically propulsive, always supportive of the singers, but not subject to their whims. Indeed, this is (as is so often true of Parry-led operas) a true ensemble effort." Critical reaction to a recording of a rare Rossini opera, '' Ricciardo e Zoraide'' is instructive: :"David Parry has been part of the team for the last several recordings issued by Opera Rara and is one of the stalwarts, his enthusiasm and control forming the skeleton which the performers are able to flesh out with much panache"


Recent activities

In 1992, he founded the Almeida Opera Festival and remains the Artistic Director. Currently he is an Artistic Associate at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and an Artistic Advisor to Opera Rara. As a guest conductor, Parry has appeared with 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 ...
, Garsington Opera, the
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 ...
, the Greek National Opera, the New Israeli Opera, Opera North, Portland Opera, the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
, the Staatsoper Hannover, the Staatstheater Stuttgart, the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, and Theater Basel among others. He occasionally teaches privately, and his students have included Stuart Stratford, Dominic Wheeler, Julian Perkins and Tom Hillary.


Awards

In 2006, the winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production was
Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He directed ''Truly, Madly, Deeply (film), ...
's ENO production of ''
Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...
'', which Parry conducted.


Notes


External links


David Parry – official website

Michael Oliver, "The pure and lyrical", ''The Gramophone'' (London), November 2000
Retrieved 12 February 2010

Retrieved 12 February 2010 * ttp://www.rayfieldallied.com/artists/david-parry/ Parry's profile on Rayfield Allied website Retrieved 7 December 2012
Parry's discography on cduniverse.com
Retrieved 12 February 2010
Charles H Parsons, "ARG Reviews Mercadante's ''Emma d'Antiochia'' ", 13 Nov 2004 on operatoday.com
Retrieved 12 February 2010

. Retrieved 12 February 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Parry, David 1949 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Alumni of the University of Cambridge English male conductors (music) Laurence Olivier Award winners Music directors (opera) 21st-century English conductors (music)