University News Last updated 02 February 2012
The founder and Artistic Director of Birmingham Opera Company will receive an honorary doctoral degree from Birmingham City University next week in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Arts in the city.
Graham Vick CBE founded the Birmingham Opera Company in 1987, and has established a radical approach to seeking new audiences through site specific and participatory productions; for example, in 2009 he directed a performance of Othello the production saw over 300 professional and community performers take over a disused aluminium factory in Birmingham.
He also directs in the world’s major opera houses with leading international conductors, including Riccardo Muti, James Levine, Bernard Haitink, Valery Gergiev, Seiji Ozawa and Zubin Mehta. He was Director of Productions at Scottish Opera (1984-87) and at Glyndebourne (1994-2000).
His many awards include four times receiving the Premio Abbiati from Italian music critics and the South Bank Show Award for Opera in both 1999 and 2002. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
He is also a Chevalier de L’Ordres des Arts et des Lettres – awarded by the French government in recognition of significant contributions to the arts or literature. He is an Honorary Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham, and was Visiting Professor of Opera Studies at Oxford University in 2002/03. Future plans include working with Opéra de Paris; the Metropolitan Opera, New York; La Scala, Milan; Mariinsky Opera, St Petersburg; and Palermo’s first ever Ring Cycle for the Wagner bicentenary in 2013.
Graham Vick will receive the award on Tuesday 7th February at the Awards Congregation ceremony which will celebrate the work and achievements of students graduating from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design and the Faculty of Performance, Media and English.