Rupert Christiansen (born 1954) is an English writer, journalist and critic.

Life and career

Born in London, Christiansen is the grandson of Arthur Christiansen (former editor of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'') and son of Kay and Michael Christiansen (former editor of the ''Sunday'' and'' Daily Mirror''). He was educated at Millfield and

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, where he took a

double first The British undergraduate degree classification system is a Grading in education, grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and Master's degree#Integrated Masters Degree, integrated master's degrees in the United Kingd ...

in English. As a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

, he also attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

from 1977 to 1978. He was hired by Rodney Milnes as a reviewer for ''Opera'' magazine, and then took over Milnes' column in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. He went on to write for many other newspapers and periodicals, including '' Harper's and Queen'', '' Vanity Fair'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' and '' Literary Review'', all of them British or American. He has written a number of books, winning the Somerset Maugham Award in 1988 for ''Romantic Affinities''. His memoir I ''Know you're Going to be Happy'' won the Spear's Memoir of the Year prize in 2013. Formerly arts editor of ''Harper's and Queen'' and deputy arts editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', he became opera critic and arts columnist of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and dance critic of ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

'' in 1996. Christiansen sits on the editorial board of ''Opera'' magazine. In 2010, he was appointed to the international jury of the Birgit Nilsson Prize. In 2022, he was appointed dance critic of ''The Spectator'' and was Dramaturg for Dickie Beau's Showmanism! at the Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal, Bath. Christiansen was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

in 1997. Between 2014 and 2016, he was a

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

Fellow at

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, and since 2016 he has been Collaborating Research Scholar at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

, where he also teaches. Formerly a board member of the Charleston Trust (1995–2010) and Gate Theatre (1993–2012), he was appointed to the boards of the Cambridge Arts Theatre and Shadwell Opera in 2016. In 2009, he entered a

civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

with the architectural critic Ellis Woodman. He lives in London. Christiansen stood down as opera critic of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 2020., but continues to write for the paper as a book reviewer and commentator on the arts.

Books

* ''

Prima Donna In opera or ''commedia dell'arte'', a prima donna (; Italian for 'first lady'; : ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the ''prime'' roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pe ...

: A History'' (1984) * ''The Grand Obsession – An Anthology of Opera'' (1988) * ''Romantic Affinities: Portraits From an Age, 1780–1830'' (1988) * ''Paris Babylon: Grandeur, Decadence and Revolution 1869–75'' (1995); UK edition: ''Tales of the New Babylon: Paris, 1869-75'' (1994) * ''The Visitors: Culture Shock in 19th Century Britain'' (2000) * ''The Voice of Victorian Sex: Arthur H Clough 1819–1861'' (2001) * ''Faber Pocket Guide to Opera'' (2002; revised 2014) * ''

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

: The Mystery of the World's Greatest Playwright'' (2003) * ''The Complete Book of Aunts''Hughes, Kathryn
"Aunts aren't just for Christmas"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 21 October 2006 (review of ''The Complete Book of Aunts'') (2006) * ''Once More, with Feeling! A Book of Classic Hymns & Carols'' (2007) * ''I Know You're Going to be Happy: A Story of Love and Betrayal'' (2013) * ''City of Light: The Reinvention of Paris'' (2018) * ''Diaghilev's Empire: How the Ballets Russes Enthralled the World'' (2022)

References

External links

Rupert Christiansen
on

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

Rupert Christiansen in conversation with Scott Simon
''Weekend Edition'', 15 December 2007
Rupert Christiansen's blog
on the Charles Dickens novel ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Christiansen, Rupert English writers Living people Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Opera critics 1954 births People educated at Millfield