Charles Mackerras

Charles Mackerras was born on 17 November 1925 in Australia. Prior to his varied career as a conductor, he was principal oboe in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra before he came to England in 1946. Since then his reputation has spread worldwide for both operatic and orchestral conducting. He directed the first English performance of Leos Janácek's Katya Kabanova, and followed this with several others, undoubtedly assisting the emergence of Janácek's music from the shadows.