Richard Gaddes
Opera Company Manager
Life takes strange twists and turns, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that Trinity College of Music [Trinity Laban] was directly responsible for my career in opera, and for my coming to America in the first place. But more important, it was the four years studying that equipped me with the musical background I needed, and fine-tuned my ear for what lay ahead in my career.
Richard Gaddes
Biography
Richard graduated in 1964 with a GTCL. After co-founding the Wigmore Hall Lunchtime Concerts in 1965, he became Artistic Administrator of The Santa Fe Opera in 1968. In 1976 he founded Opera Theatre of St. Louis returning in 1993 to Santa Fe as Associate General Director of the company, becoming General Director in 2000 until his retirement in 2008. Richard's career has been dedicated to furthering the careers of young singers; he has championed adventurous repertoire and built new audiences through imaginative education and outreach programmes. The recipient of numerous awards, including in 2008 a Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Endowment for the Arts, he has served on many boards of directors including the Pulitzer Foundation. He received an honorary Fellowship from Trinity Laban in 2017.