Brian Large
Encyclopedia
Brian Large is a television director specializing in opera
and classical music broadcasts.
London where he was appointed "Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music" in 1991.
After graduating from the University of London
with Doctorate degrees in both Music and Philosophy he did postgraduate work in Vienna and Prague. His interest in Czech and Slavic opera resulted in the writing and publication of two pioneering books on the music of Bedřich Smetana
and Bohuslav Martinů
.
2 Television at its inception as a director with responsibility for music and opera television and was appointed chief opera producer in 1970.
During this period he televised
In 1966 the BBC
commissioned an opera for television from Benjamin Britten
. In August 1970 Owen Wingrave
, op.85 (libretto: Britten/Piper, based on a short story by Henry James) was completed. Brian Large directed and televised its world premiere conducted by the composer in November 1970, first broadcast on BBC 2 on 16 May 1971.
During his time at the BBC for Royal Opera, London
Large directed
Additionally, he directed numerous programmes by Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Kenneth Macmillan from The Royal Ballet, among others
Apart from The Royal Ballet he also worked with Margot Fonteyn
and Rudolph Nureyev.
While at the BBC
Brian Large directed numerous live telecasts of concerts with
invited Large to Bayreuth to collaborate on documenting the works of his grandfather Richard Wagner
on television.
and, perhaps, one of the most acclaimed programs in the history of classical music on television
For the latter the Royal Television Society
named Large "Best Television Director" in 1981.
Subsequent to taking leave of the BBC in 1980, Brian Large has continued to direct opera for the Royal Opera, London
including
In recent years he has directed from Royal Opera, London telecasts of
From the Glyndebourne Festival he has televised The Markopoulos Case (Silia; Sir Andrew Davis) and Le comte Ory
(Massis; Sir Andrew Davis).
Following the 1977 internationally televised Royal Opera House Gala celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, invitations came for Large to direct performing arts programs for many international television networks and opera companies including
Additionally, Large has directed concerts for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
: The annual Vienna New Year's Concert
from 1989 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2009 and in 2011.
In Germany, Brian Large has directed for ZDF
from Deutsche Oper Berlin
and two concerts at the Dresdner Frauenkirche with Angela Gheorghiu
and Cecilia Bartoli
. Brian Large televised for Bayerischer Rundfunk
from Bayerische Staatsoper, Prinzregententheater
and Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
and two special concerts from the Vatican honoring Pope Benedict XVI (Jansons 27 Oct. 2007 ; Thielemann) as well as the Opening Concert of the 2006 World Cup Games (Domingo, Damrau, Lang Lang; Jansons, Mehta, Thielemann).
Brian Large directed opera productions from La Scala
among others Nabucco
(Dimitrova, Bruson ; Muti) and from the Arena di Verona Madame Butterfly (Kabaivanska) and Tosca
(Marton, Aragall).
From the Mariinsky Theatre
, St. Petersburg, Large has televised opera under the musical direction of Valery Gergiev
including Pique Dame and the original "St. Petersburg" version of La forza del destino
as well as ballet: Jewels (ballet)
and Don Quixote
.
At the Théâtre du Châtelet
in Paris Brian Large directed The Cunning Little Vixen
(Mackerras, Hytner); Alceste
(von Otter; Gardiner) and Orphée
(Kozena; Gardiner), while from the Théatre des Champs Elysée he televised "Viva Vivaldi" with Cecilia Bartoli.
Since 1979, Large has directed over 80 opera-, recital- and gala-telecasts from the Metropolitan Opera
New York with James Levine
and he has televised the 1983/84 Spring Centennial Gala, the 1991 25th Anniversary Gala, the 1996 James Levine's 25th Anniversary gala, the 1998 Pavarotti's 30th Anniversary gala and the 2006 Farewell Gala to General Manager Joseph Volpe.
In the United States Large has televised operas from the
as well as concerts from the
and a decade of Opening Night gala events from
Throughout his career Large has worked in cooperation with many renowned conductors and orchestras including, among others,
and again
Other honors are:
For the excellence of his opus of more than 600 programmes the 44th annual Golden Prague Festival (June, 2007) honored Brian Large with a special tribute for his contribution to the industry and named his 2006 Salzburg DVD of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro as "Best Performing Arts Programme – Opera".
In 1985 the French Government named Large a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
.
and Bohuslav Martinů
.
He wrote the entry contribution on Bohuslav Martinů in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
. and he translated the libretto to The Flying Dutchman
by Richard Wagner.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and classical music broadcasts.
Studies
Brian Large studied at the Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
London where he was appointed "Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music" in 1991.
After graduating from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
with Doctorate degrees in both Music and Philosophy he did postgraduate work in Vienna and Prague. His interest in Czech and Slavic opera resulted in the writing and publication of two pioneering books on the music of Bedřich Smetana
Bedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
and Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
.
BBC 1965–1980
In 1965 Brian Large joined the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
2 Television at its inception as a director with responsibility for music and opera television and was appointed chief opera producer in 1970.
During this period he televised
- Burning Fiery Furnace, IdomeneoIdomeneoIdomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
and Peter GrimesPeter GrimesPeter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem The Borough...
(with Pears and Britten) - La traviataLa traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
(Harwood) - MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(Johnson, Shicoff, Bailey, Ghiaurov) - Amahl and Night Visitors, Hänsel und GretelHänsel und GretelHansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper . The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel"...
(Johns, Bailey) - Love for Three Oranges and Der Fliegende Holländer (Johns, Bailey)
In 1966 the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
commissioned an opera for television from Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
. In August 1970 Owen Wingrave
Owen Wingrave
Owen Wingrave is an opera for television in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 85, and a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James....
, op.85 (libretto: Britten/Piper, based on a short story by Henry James) was completed. Brian Large directed and televised its world premiere conducted by the composer in November 1970, first broadcast on BBC 2 on 16 May 1971.
During his time at the BBC for Royal Opera, London
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
Large directed
- ToscaToscaTosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
(Jurinac) - AidaAidaAida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
(Jones, Bumbry, Craig; Downes) and - OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(Cossutto, Cappuccilli; Downes).
Additionally, he directed numerous programmes by Sir Frederick Ashton and Sir Kenneth Macmillan from The Royal Ballet, among others
- CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
(Collier, Dowell) - Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
(Sibley) - "Elite Syncopations" (Mason).
Apart from The Royal Ballet he also worked with Margot Fonteyn
Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
and Rudolph Nureyev.
While at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Brian Large directed numerous live telecasts of concerts with
- Claudio AbbadoClaudio AbbadoClaudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
(Prokoviev's Piano Concerto No.3 with Martha ArgerichMartha ArgerichMartha Argerich is an Argentine pianist.-Early life:Argerich was born in Buenos Aires and started playing the piano at age three...
) - Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
(Dvořák Cello Concerto with du Pre) - Sir John Barbirolli (Elgar symphonies and orchestral works by Delius)
- Leonard BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
(Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring", Shostakovich's Symphony No 5, Sibelius' Symphony No 5) - Sir Adrian Boult (Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius with Baker, Pears and Shirley-Quirk; symphonies by Elgar and Vaughan Williams)
- Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
(Tschaikowsky's Rococo Variations with Rostropovich; and symphonies) - Sir Colin Davis (Shostakovich's Cello Concerti 1 & 2 with Rostropovich)
- Kyril Kondrashin (Brahms' "Double Concerto" with Oistrakh and Rostropovich)
- Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
(his "Firebird Ballet") and - Sir William Walton (his Belshazar's Feast).
International networks and opera companies
In 1974 Wolfgang WagnerWolfgang Wagner
Wolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
invited Large to Bayreuth to collaborate on documenting the works of his grandfather Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
on television.
- Die Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
(twice: Kollo and Jerusalem) initiated a series that over twelve years included - TannhäuserTannhäuser (opera)Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
(Studer, Versalle, Brendel, Sotin, Sinopoli) - ParsifalParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
(Jerusalem; Stein) - Der Fliegende Holländer (Estes, Balslev, Salminen, Schunk; Nelson)
- LohengrinLohengrin (opera)Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
(twice: Stein and Nelson)
and, perhaps, one of the most acclaimed programs in the history of classical music on television
- Der Ring des NibelungenDer Ring des NibelungenDer Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
(Boulez /Chéreau)
For the latter the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
named Large "Best Television Director" in 1981.
Subsequent to taking leave of the BBC in 1980, Brian Large has continued to direct opera for the Royal Opera, London
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
including
- Les Contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'HoffmannLes contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
(Domingo, Baltsa; Prêtre) - La BohèmeLa bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
(Contrubas, Shicoff; Gardelli) - Die FledermausDie FledermausDie Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
(Te Kanawa, Prey; Mehta) - Der RosenkavalierDer RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(Te Kanawa; Solti) - AidaAidaAida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
(Studer; Downes) - Don Carlo (Contrubas, Lima; Haitink)
- FalstaffFalstaff (opera)Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
(Bruson; Giulini) - Luisa MillerLuisa MillerLuisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
(Ricciarelli, Domingo, Bruson; Maazel).
In recent years he has directed from Royal Opera, London telecasts of
- Roméo et JulietteRoméo et JulietteRoméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
(Alagna; Mackerras) - Lorin MaazelLorin MaazelLorin Varencove Maazel is an American conductor, violinist and composer.- Early life :Maazel was born to Jewish-American parents in Neuilly-sur-Seine in France and brought up in the United States, primarily at his parents' home in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. His father, Lincoln Maazel , was...
's world premiere of 1984 (Keenlyside, Damrau; Maazel) - OthelloOthelloThe Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
(Te Kanawa, Domingo; Solti) - Simon BoccanegraSimon BoccanegraSimon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
(Te Kanawa; Solti) - StiffelioStiffelioStiffelio is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Le pasteur, ou L'évangile et le foyer by Émile Souvestre and Eugène Bourgeois...
and Il trovatoreIl trovatoreIl trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
(Cura, Hvorostovsky; Rizzi).
From the Glyndebourne Festival he has televised The Markopoulos Case (Silia; Sir Andrew Davis) and Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory
Le comte Ory is an opéra written by Gioachino Rossini in 1828. Some of the music originates from his opera Il viaggio a Reims written three years earlier for the coronation of Charles X...
(Massis; Sir Andrew Davis).
Following the 1977 internationally televised Royal Opera House Gala celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, invitations came for Large to direct performing arts programs for many international television networks and opera companies including
- Vienna State OperaVienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
- Volksoper Vienna
- Wiener Festwochen (1995, 1996)
- Theater an der WienTheater an der WienThe Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
- Vienna Philharmonic concerts in Salzburg (1996, 1998–2000, 2002, 2005–2006)
- Salzburger Festspiele, opera productions (1980–2010)
- Bregenzer FestspieleBregenzer FestspieleBregenzer Festspiele is a performing arts festival which is held every July and August in Bregenz, Austria.Founded in 1946, the festival presents a wide variety of musical and theatrical events in several venues:...
where he televised La Bohème (Villazon; awarded the 2003 "Grand Prix" Golden Prague Award) - Mozartwochen Salzburg 2006 and
- Musikverein (1989–2009).
Additionally, Large has directed concerts for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
: The annual Vienna New Year's Concert
Vienna New Year's Concert
The New Year's Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic is a concert of classical music that takes place each year in the morning of January 1 in Vienna, Austria...
from 1989 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2009 and in 2011.
In Germany, Brian Large has directed for ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
from Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
and two concerts at the Dresdner Frauenkirche with Angela Gheorghiu
Angela Gheorghiu
Angela Gheorghiu is a Romanian soprano opera singer. Since her professional debut in 1990, she has sung as soprano leading roles at New York's Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, Milan's La Scala, and many other opera houses in Europe and the United States...
and Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli
Cecilia Bartoli is an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist. She is best-known for her interpretation of the music of Mozart and Rossini, as well as for her performances of lesser-known Baroque and classical music...
. Brian Large televised for Bayerischer Rundfunk
Bayerischer Rundfunk
Bayerischer Rundfunk [Bavarian Broadcasting] is the public broadcasting authority for the German Freistaat of Bavaria, with its main offices located in Munich. BR is a member of ARD.- Legal foundation :...
from Bayerische Staatsoper, Prinzregententheater
Prinzregententheater
The Prinzregententheater, or Prince Regent's Theatre, is a theatre and opera house located at 12 Prinzregentenplatz in the Bavarian city of Munich, Germany.- Building and History :...
and Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz is an opera house and opera company in Munich. Designed by the architect Michael Reiffenstuel, it opened on 5 November 1865 as the city's second opera house after the National Theatre....
and two special concerts from the Vatican honoring Pope Benedict XVI (Jansons 27 Oct. 2007 ; Thielemann) as well as the Opening Concert of the 2006 World Cup Games (Domingo, Damrau, Lang Lang; Jansons, Mehta, Thielemann).
Brian Large directed opera productions from La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
among others Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
(Dimitrova, Bruson ; Muti) and from the Arena di Verona Madame Butterfly (Kabaivanska) and Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
(Marton, Aragall).
From the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
, St. Petersburg, Large has televised opera under the musical direction of Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
including Pique Dame and the original "St. Petersburg" version of La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
as well as ballet: Jewels (ballet)
Jewels (ballet)
Jewels is an award-winning ballet in three parts created for New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday,...
and Don Quixote
Don Quixote (ballet)
Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
.
At the Théâtre du Châtelet
Théâtre du Châtelet
The Théâtre du Châtelet is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France.One of two theatres built on the site of a châtelet, a small castle or fortress, it was designed by Gabriel Davioud at the request of Baron Haussmann between 1860 and...
in Paris Brian Large directed The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen
The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, with a libretto adapted by the composer from a serialized novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek, which was first published in the newspaper Lidové noviny.-Composition history:When Janáček discovered Těsnohlídek's...
(Mackerras, Hytner); Alceste
Alceste
Alceste may refer to:*Alcestis, mythical Greek princess*Alceste De Ambris, Italian socialistLiterature:*Alcestis , by Euripides *Alceste, the queen and wife of the god of love in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women...
(von Otter; Gardiner) and Orphée
Orphée
Orpheus is a 1950 French film directed by Jean Cocteau and starring Jean Marais. This film is the central part of Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy, which consists of The Blood of a Poet , Orpheus and Testament of Orpheus...
(Kozena; Gardiner), while from the Théatre des Champs Elysée he televised "Viva Vivaldi" with Cecilia Bartoli.
Since 1979, Large has directed over 80 opera-, recital- and gala-telecasts from the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
New York with James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
and he has televised the 1983/84 Spring Centennial Gala, the 1991 25th Anniversary Gala, the 1996 James Levine's 25th Anniversary gala, the 1998 Pavarotti's 30th Anniversary gala and the 2006 Farewell Gala to General Manager Joseph Volpe.
In the United States Large has televised operas from the
- Los Angeles OperaLos Angeles OperaThe Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
- San Francisco OperaSan Francisco OperaSan Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
- Houston Grand OperaHouston Grand OperaHouston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
- Lyric Opera of ChicagoLyric Opera of ChicagoLyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
- Washington National OperaWashington National OperaThe Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
and from the - Philadelphia Opera
as well as concerts from the
- Chicago Symphony
- Los Angeles PhilharmonicLos Angeles PhilharmonicThe Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
- San Francisco SymphonySan Francisco SymphonyThe San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
- Philadelphia OrchestraPhiladelphia OrchestraThe Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
and a decade of Opening Night gala events from
- Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
.
Throughout his career Large has worked in cooperation with many renowned conductors and orchestras including, among others,
- Claudio AbbadoClaudio AbbadoClaudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Berliner Philharmoniker) - Daniel BarenboimDaniel BarenboimDaniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
(BerlinerPhilharmoniker; London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
) - Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) - Valery GergievValery GergievValery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Berliner Philharmoniker) - Bernard HaitinkBernard HaitinkBernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam...
(Berliner Philharmoniker; London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
) - Nikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus HarnoncourtNikolaus Harnoncourt is an Austrian conductor, particularly known for his historically informed performances of music from the Classical era and earlier. Starting out as a classical cellist, he founded his own period instrument ensemble in the 1950s, and became a pioneer of the Early Music movement...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) - Mariss JansonsMariss JansonsMariss Ivars Georgs Jansons is a Latvian conductor, the son of conductor Arvīds Jansons. His mother, the singer Iraida Jansons, who was Jewish, gave birth to him in hiding in Riga, Latvia, after her father and brother were killed in the Riga Ghetto...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks) - Carlos KleiberCarlos KleiberCarlos Kleiber was a German-born, Austrian classical conductor who spent most of his early life in Berlin, Buenos Aires, Vienna and New York City, and from the early 1960s his professional career in Germany.- Early career :...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) - Sir Neville Marriner (Academy of St. Martin in the FieldsAcademy of St. Martin in the FieldsThe Academy of St Martin in the Fields is an English chamber orchestra, based in London.Sir Neville Marriner founded the ensemble as The Academy of St.-Martin-in-the-Fields in London as a small, conductorless string group. The ensemble's name comes from Trafalgar Square's St Martin-in-the-Fields...
, Dresdner Staatskapelle) - Ricardo Muti (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Philadelphia Orchestra)
- Seiji OzawaSeiji Ozawais a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Boston Symphony OrchestraBoston Symphony OrchestraThe Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...
) - Georges PrêtreGeorges Prêtre- Biography :He was born in Waziers , and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting under André Cluytens among others at the Conservatoire de Paris. Amongst his early musical interests were jazz and trumpet. After graduating, he conducted in a...
(Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Berliner Philharmoniker) - Sir Simon Rattle (Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Berliner Philharmoniker)
- Sir Georg Solti (Berliner Philharmoniker; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; London Philharmonic OrchestraLondon Philharmonic OrchestraThe London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...
)
Awards and honors
Brian Large won two primetime Emmy Awards:- 1992 for The Metropolitan Opera Silver Anniversary Gala (Levine, 1991) (TV) at Lincoln Center for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Classical Music/ Dance Programming – Directing
and again
- 1993 for the live transmission of Tosca conducted by Zubin MehtaZubin MehtaZubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:...
(1992) (TV) from Rome, seen worldwide on 106 television networks, and for Outstanding Individual Achivement – Classical Music/ Dance Programming – Directing, (shared with Giuseppe Patroni GriffiGiuseppe Patroni GriffiGiuseppe Patroni Griffi was an Italian playwright, screenwriter, director and author.He was born in Naples in an aristocratic family and moved to Rome immediately after the end of World War II and spent his professional life there...
(director)).
Other honors are:
- 1986 Large received a Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
for the live CBS telecast "Sunday Morning: Vladimir Horowitz" (1986) from the famed Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. - 1981 The British Television Society recognized Large as "Best Television Director" for the Chéreau/ Boulez production of Der Ring des Nibelungen;
- 1990 for "The Three Tenors" FIFA world cup concert on 7 July 1990 from the Bath of Caracalla in Rome and again in
- 1993 for Stiffelio (Carreras) from Covent GardenCovent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, - further with its Judges' Award (Programme) for outstanding achievement in the field of television direction.
- 1990 The British Academy of Film and Television Arts/BAFTA recognized Large as "Best Television Director" for "The Three Tenors".
For the excellence of his opus of more than 600 programmes the 44th annual Golden Prague Festival (June, 2007) honored Brian Large with a special tribute for his contribution to the industry and named his 2006 Salzburg DVD of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro as "Best Performing Arts Programme – Opera".
In 1985 the French Government named Large a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
.
Publications
Large is author of two biographical books on the musicians Bedřich SmetanaBedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
and Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
.
- Brian Large, Smetana (London, 1970) and
- Brian Large, Martinu (London, 1975)
He wrote the entry contribution on Bohuslav Martinů in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
. and he translated the libretto to The Flying Dutchman
The Flying Dutchman (opera)
Der fliegende Holländer is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner.Wagner claimed in his 1870 autobiography Mein Leben that he had been inspired to write "The Flying Dutchman" following a stormy sea crossing he made from Riga to London in July and August 1839, but in his 1843...
by Richard Wagner.
Filmography
A filmography of Large's TV opera and concert productions of more than 150 titles covering the years 1970 to 2009 is available on The Internet Movie Database IMDb / Brian Large.External links
- Brian Large at The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Movies database - IMG Artists, Brian Large's management