Graham Vick

English opera director Graham Vick was born in Birkenhead on 30 December 1953 and studied in Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music.

At twenty-three he directed Gustav Holst's opera Savitri for Scottish Opera and went on to become that company's director of productions.

He founded the Birmingham Opera Company in 1987 and was its artistic director for the rest of his life. His Birmingham productions include, in 2012, Stockhausen's Mittwoch aus Licht and, in 2009, the first UK production of Verdi's Othello to feature a black tenor, Ronald Samm, in the title role. In 2011 they took Britten's Curlew River to the Henry Wood Proms in London.

Vick made his Covent Garden debut in 1989 with Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto.

From 1994 until 2000 he was director of productions at Glyndebourne.

Graham Vick died from complications resulting from COVID-19 in London on 17 July 2021, aged sixty-seven.

 

A selection of articles about Graham Vick

CD Spotlight. A Dark Nordic Kingdom - Giuseppe Pennisi listens to Verdi's 'Gustavo III' ('Un ballo in maschera'). '... a good recording to remember a much expected but somewhat disappointing performance.'

Classical music news - July 2021 Obituaries - Our summary of those the classical music world has lost this month

Ensemble. A Survival Strategy - Giuseppe Pennisi writes about the current music scene in Italy, touching on recent notable performances

Ensemble. Take A Sabbatical - Giuseppe Pennisi has some advice for Graham Vick, based on the latter's latest production of 'Don Giovanni'

Ensemble. Sex and Power in Pesaro - Giuseppe Pennisi reports on a new production of 'Semiramide' at the Rossini Opera Festival

Ensemble. A Poor Staging - Graham Vick's 'The Marriage of Figaro' in Rome, reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. A Controversial Così - Giuseppe Pennisi was in the audience at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma

Ensemble. A Successful Challenge - Wagner's 'Götterdämmerung' ends the Palermo 'Ring' cycle, reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. A Rebel with a Cause - Teatro Massimo di Palermo's 'Siegfried', reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. The End of Utopia - 'The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny' by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. Semi-serious Rossini - Giuseppe Pennisi visits the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro

Ensemble. Sex and Violence - Graham Vick's 'Don Giovanni', reviewed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. Good Music makes Good Money - Giuseppe Pennisi was at the 2013 Rossini Opera Festival

Ensemble. Anything Goes - A shocking 'Die Walküre', experienced by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. A Key Flaw - If 'Das Rheingold' becomes a comedy, by Giuseppe Pennisi

DVD Spotlight. Heartfelt Agitation - Rossini's 'Mosè in Egitto', reviewed by Robert Anderson. 'Musically all is well ...'

Ask Alice - A visit to Covent Garden for 'Die Meistersinger', with Classical Music agony aunt Alice McVeigh

Ensemble. Patriot and Terrorist? - New aspects of Rossini brought to light at the 2011 Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, discussed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. Too Clever by Half - A very British version of Mozart's 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail' returns to Rome, experienced by Giuseppe Pennisi

Ensemble. A Difficult Cocktail - Rossini's 'Moïse et Pharaon', assessed by Giuseppe Pennisi

Thoroughly Impressed - Maria Nockin talks to baritone Alan Opie, who is about to sing Germont for San Diego Opera

Ensemble. Wholly Serious - Handel's 'Tamerlano' at Covent Garden, reviewed by Robert Hugill

DVD Spotlight. Tragic Power - Handel's 'Tamerlano', reviewed by Robert Anderson. 'The simplicity of the production is welcome ...'

A Real Find - Robert Davies made a remarkable impact when he stood in as Papageno late in the run of English Touring Opera's 'The Magic Flute'; Roderic Dunnett profiles him and celebrates the progress of other ETO cast members

Ensemble. Moments of magic - 'A Midsummer Marriage' at Covent Garden, reviewed by Robert Hugill

Ensemble. Oozing with talent - Birmingham Opera Company's 'Ulysses comes home', reviewed by Roderic Dunnett