John Dexter

John Dexter (2 August 1925 – 23 March 1990) was an English theatre, opera and film director.

Theatre

Born in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Dexter left school at the age of fourteen to serve in the British Army during the Second World War. Following the war, he began working as a stage actor before turning to producing and directing shows for repertory companies. In 1957, he was appointed Associate Director of the English Stage Company based at the Royal Court.

Dexter's first great success was his production of ''Roots'', in 1959, which brought Joan Plowright to prominence. He went on to direct '' Toys in the Attic'' (with Wendy Hiller, 1960) and '' Saint Joan'' (1963). In 1964, he was named Associate Director of the National Theatre of Great Britain, and he produced '' The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' (1964).

That year, he also directed ''Othello'', with Sir Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith and Frank Finlay. It was considered a tremendous success. RCA recorded an audio version, and, the following year, Stuart Burge made a film of the production (now available on DVD) for BHE Films.

Dexter continued with ''Hamlet'' (with music by Conrad Susa, 1969), '' Equus'' (one of his triumphs, 1973), Trevor Griffiths's ''The Party'' (Lord Olivier's final stage appearance, 1973), ''Phaedra Britannica'' (with his friend, Diana Rigg, 1975), '' The Merchant'' (aka, ''Shylock'', 1977), ''As You Like It'' (with music by Harrison Birtwistle, 1979), ''Life of Galileo'' (with Sir Michael Gambon, 1980), '' The Glass Menagerie'' (with Jessica Tandy, 1983) and ''Julius Caesar'' (1988). His final great success was ''M. Butterfly'' (1988), on Broadway, and the following year, he staged '' Die Dreigroschenoper'' there (with Sting as Macheath), which was to be his final production.

Cinema

Dexter's debut feature-film was ''The Virgin Soldiers'' (with Lynn Redgrave, 1969). His second film was '' The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker'' (aka, ''Pigeons'', with Elaine Stritch, 1970); his third was '' I Want What I Want'' (1972).

For Granada Television, Dexter directed ''Twelfth Night'', with Sir Alec Guinness and Sir Ralph Richardson in 1969.

Opera

Dexter made his operatic debut at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, in 1966, with ''Benvenuto Cellini'', with Nicolai Gedda, and, in 1983, he staged a double-bill of '' Le rossignol'' (with Natalia Makarova) and '' L'enfant et les sortilèges'' for the company. At the Hamburg State Opera, he staged '' Les vêpres siciliennes'' (1969), '' From the House of the Dead'' (1972), ''Billy Budd'' (with Richard Stilwell, 1972), ''Boris Godunov'' (in the Shostakovich edition, 1972) and '' Un ballo in maschera'' (with Luciano Pavarotti and Sherrill Milnes, 1973). For Sadler's Wells, he produced '' The Devils of Loudun'' in 1973.

At the Metropolitan Opera (where he was Director of Production from 1974 to 1981, then Production Advisor from 1981 to 1984), Dexter mounted new productions of ''Les vêpres siciliennes'' (with Montserrat Caballé, 1974), '' Aïda'' (with Leontyne Price, 1976), ''Le prophète'' (with Marilyn Horne, 1977), '' Dialogues des Carmélites'' (1977), ''Lulu'' (1977), ''Rigoletto'' (with Cornell MacNeil and Plácido Domingo, 1977), ''Billy Budd'' (with Sir Peter Pears, 1978), ''The Bartered Bride'' (with Teresa Stratas and Jon Vickers, 1978), ''Don Pasquale'' (with Beverly Sills, 1978), ''Don Carlos'' (with Renata Scotto, 1979), ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' (with Edda Moser, later Zdzisława Donat, 1979), '' Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny'' (1979) and the triple-bills (both designed by David Hockney) of "Parade" (''Parade''/'' Les mamelles de Tirésias''/''L'enfant et les sortilèges'', 1981) and "Stravinsky" ('' Le sacre du printemps''/''Le rossignol''/'' Œdipus rex'', 1981).''Rigoletto'' (1977 and the revival of 1981), ''The Bartered Bride'' (1978), ''Mahagonny'' (1979), ''Lulu'' (1980) and two revivals of ''Don Carlos'' (1980 and 1983) are available on DVD.

For the Paris Opéra, he staged ''Les vêpres siciliennes'' (1974) and '' La forza del destino'' (1975).

In Zurich, he produced ''Nabucco'' in 1986.

Life

In 1978, the Hamburg-based Alfred Toepfer Foundation awarded Dexter its annual Shakespeare Prize in recognition of his life's work. John Dexter died in London during heart surgery; he had also been afflicted with poliomyelitis and diabetes. His acerbic and witty autobiography, ''The Honourable Beast'', was published posthumously, in which he wrote of his "Fury for perfection...."

Broadway productions

*''The Threepenny Opera'' (1989 revival)
*''M. Butterfly'' (1988)
*'' The Glass Menagerie'' (1983 revival)
*'' One Night Stand'' (1980, "never officially opened")
* ''The Merchant'' (1977)
*''The Misanthrope'' (1975 revival)
*'' Equus'' (1974)
*'' The Unknown Soldier and His Wife'' (1967)
*'' Black Comedy/White Liars'' (1967)
*'' The Royal Hunt of the Sun'' (1965)
*'' Do I Hear a Waltz?'' (1965)
*'' Chips With Everything'' (1963)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

* Dexter, John. (1993). ''The Honourable Beast: A Posthumous Autobiography.'' London: Nick Hern Books.
OCLC 28642052
* Hiley, Jim. (1981). ''Theatre at work: The story of the National Theatre's production of Brecht's "Galileo".'' London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ;
OCLC 7883761

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dexter, John
1925 births
1990 deaths
Drama Desk Award winners
English film directors
English theatre directors
British opera directors
People from Derby
Tony Award winners
English directors
British Army personnel of World War II
Military personnel from Derby
British Army soldiers