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36-810: The Gerdine Young Artists is an opera young artist program named for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis ' founding board chairman and the National Medal of Arts recipient, Leigh Gerdine . The Gerdine Young Artists receive training and professional experience from internationally established opera stars and conductors. Teachers in their master classes have included Anthony Rolfe Johnson , Marlena Malas , Phyllis Curtin , Evelyn Lear , Erie Mills , Jerry Hadley , Grace Bumbry , John Wustman , Sheri Greenawald , Lotfi Mansouri , Sherrill Milnes , Shirley Verrett , Colin Graham , James Robinson , and Stephen Lord Members of

72-453: A neuropsychology research fellow at the University of Sussex the following year. In 1990, Miller wrote and presented a joint BBC/Canadian production titled, Born Talking: A Personal Inquiry into Language . The four-part series looked into the acquisition of language, and complexities surrounding language production, with a special focus on sign language used by deaf people. This interest

108-660: A Japanese opera in Japan by any American company was followed by a return to Tokyo in September 2001 to present the Japanese premiere of the classic Genji Monogatari , adapted as an opera by Minoru Miki as The Tale of Genji . Well-known directors Graham Vick , Jonathan Miller , and Mark Lamos have made U.S. operatic debuts with OTSL, as did conductors Leonard Slatkin and Christopher Hogwood . Colin Graham served as OTSL's director of productions from 1978 until 1985. John Nelson

144-729: A consultant from the Metropolitan Opera . Gaddes acknowledged that the model for OTSL was The Santa Fe Opera : That was not a coincidence. I always say that John Crosby sired the Opera Theater of St. Louis. The whole concept was modeled on Santa Fe, and part of the idea was that the apprentices here would feed into St. Louis. Which they did. The first season in 1976 presented eleven performances of Britten 's Albert Herring , Mozart 's The Impresario , Menotti 's The Medium , and Donizetti 's Don Pasquale . This mixture of some standard works, and some new and unconventional operas,

180-616: A new production of The Marriage of Figaro for English National Opera in 1978. Miller's other turns as an opera director included productions of Rigoletto (in 1975 and 1982) and the operetta The Mikado (in 1987). Miller drew upon his own experiences as a physician, writer and presenter of the BBC television series The Body in Question (1978). The series was nominated for two 1979 BAFTAs : Best Factual Television Series and Most Original Programme/Series and caused some controversy for showing

216-679: A physician in 1959 and then worked as a hospital house officer for two years, including at the Central Middlesex Hospital as house physician for gastroenterologist Francis Avery Jones . Miller helped to write and produce the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe , which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in August 1960. This launched, in addition to his own, the careers of Alan Bennett , Peter Cook and Dudley Moore . Miller quit

252-837: A stage play was for John Osborne , whose Under Plain Cover he directed in 1962. In 1964, he directed the play The Old Glory by the American poet Robert Lowell in New York City. It was the first play produced at the American Place Theatre and starred Frank Langella , Roscoe Lee Brown , and Lester Rawlins . The play won five Obie Awards in 1965 including an award for "Best American Play" as well as awards for Langella, Brown and Rawlins. He wrote, produced, and directed an adaptation for television of Alice in Wonderland (1966) for

288-573: A television personality and public intellectual in Britain and the United States. Miller grew up in St John's Wood , London, in a well-connected Jewish family. His father Emanuel (1892–1970), who was of Lithuanian descent and suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis , was a military psychiatrist and subsequently a paediatric psychiatrist at Harley House. His mother, Betty Miller (née Spiro) (1910–1965),

324-724: A well-received Taming of the Shrew starring John Cleese . In the early 1980s, Miller was a popular and frequent guest on PBS ' Dick Cavett Show . Miller wrote and presented the BBC television series, and accompanying book, States of Mind in 1983 and the same year directed Roger Daltrey as Macheath, the outlaw hero of the BBC's production of John Gay 's 1728 ballad opera , The Beggar's Opera . He also became chair of Edinburgh Festival Fringe board of directors. In 1984, he studied neuropsychology with Dr. Sandra Witelson at McMaster University in Hamilton , Ontario, Canada, before becoming

360-409: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Opera Theatre of St. Louis In 1976, Leigh Gerdine , Laurance L. Browning Jr. and James Van Sant co-founded OTSL. They hired Richard Gaddes , who at the time was working at The Santa Fe Opera , as the company's first artistic director. They signed him as full-time general director in 1978 at the suggestion of Ed Korn, who was brought in as

396-807: The Cincinnati Opera in July 2010, also directed by Miller. On 15 September 2010, Miller, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian , stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI 's state visit to the UK. In April and May 2011, Miller directed Verdi's La traviata in Vancouver , Canada, and in February and March 2012, Mozart's Così fan tutte in Washington, D.C. On 25 November 2015,

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432-492: The Gerdine Young Artists program, named for Opera Theatre's founding board chairman, Leigh Gerdine. The Gerdine Young Artists serve as the annual chorus for the company, as the company does not retain a resident chorus. OTSL chorus directors have included Donald Palumbo, Cary John Franklin, Sandra Horst, and Robert Ainsley. In February 2020, OTSL announced the appointment of Walter Huff as its next chorus director. Due to

468-617: The Rudolf Steiner School Kings Langley (a Waldorf school ) where he was taught by two of Ivy Compton-Burnett 's sisters and says of that time that he "never learnt anything at all". Miller concluded his secondary school education at St Paul's School, London where he developed an early (and ultimately lifelong) interest in the biological sciences. While at St Paul's School at the age of 12, Miller met and became close friends with Oliver Sacks and Sacks's best friend Eric Korn, friendships which remained crucial throughout

504-577: The BBC. He followed this with Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968) starring Michael Hordern , a television adaptation of M. R. James 's 1904 ghost story "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad" . He produced a National Theatre Company production of The Merchant of Venice starring Laurence Olivier . He later resigned as associate director. Miller held a research fellowship in the history of medicine at University College London from 1970 to 1973. In 1974, he also started directing and producing operas for Kent Opera and Glyndebourne , followed by

540-459: The COVID-19 pandemic however, Huff never formally took up the post. Succeeding Gaddes as OTSL general director was Charles MacKay , who held the post from 1985 to 2008. MacKay had previously served as OTSL executive director, beginning in 1984. MacKay led the campaign to construct and fund the new Sally S. Levy Opera Center, a new and permanent administrative home and year-round rehearsal facility for

576-543: The Clown were part of an OTSL series of commissioning new operas, under the "New Works, Bold Voices" initiative. In addition, OTSL has given at least 14 American premieres, including Michael Berkeley 's Jane Eyre ; Benjamin Britten 's Paul Bunyan ; Rossini 's Il viaggio a Reims (The Journey to Reims) ; and Judith Weir 's The Vanishing Bridegroom (under the title Highland Wedding ). The company trains young artists in

612-579: The United States in 2007. In 2007, Miller directed The Cherry Orchard at The Crucible, Sheffield , his first work on the British stage for 10 years. He also directed Monteverdi's L'Orfeo in Manchester and Bristol, and Der Rosenkavalier in Tokyo and gave talks throughout Britain during 2007 called An Audience with Jonathan Miller in which he spoke about his life for an hour and then fielded questions from

648-577: The United States premiere of the Gioachino Rossini 's 1819 opera Ermione , directed by Miller. In 2002 Miller directed Cosi fan tutte at Rønne Theater (1813) in Rønne, Bornholm in Denmark. In 2004, Miller wrote and presented a television series on atheism entitled Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief (more commonly referred to as Jonathan Miller's Brief History of Disbelief ) for BBC Four , exploring

684-402: The appointment of Andrew Jorgensen as its next general director, effective July 2, 2018. In July 2020, OTSL's then-director of artistic administration, Damon Bristo, was arrested for child sex trafficking in the second degree. He was placed on unpaid leave and later resigned. In February 2022, OTSL announced simultaneously the extension of Robinson's contact as artistic director through 2026, and

720-463: The appointment of Daniela Candillari as its new principal conductor, with an initial contract of three years. Candillari is the first female conductor to be named principal conductor of the company. In October 2022, OTSL announced an extension to Jorgensen's contract as OTSL general director through June 2028. In February 2024, OTSL announced an extension to Candillari's contract as OTSL general director through June 2028. In August 2024, OTSL announced

756-508: The appointment of Roberto Kalb as its resident conductor, effective with the 2018 season. In September 2007, OTSL named James Robinson as the company's next artistic director, and Timothy O'Leary to the position of executive director. MacKay concluded his OTSL tenure as general director on September 30, 2008. In June 2008, OTSL named O'Leary as its third general director, effective October 1, 2008. O'Leary concluded his OTSL general directorship on June 30, 2018. In April 2018, OTSL announced

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792-771: The audience. He also curated an exhibition on camouflage at the Imperial War Museum . He appeared at the Royal Society of the Arts in London discussing humour (4 July 2007) and at the British Library on religion (3 September 2007). In January 2009, after a break of 12 years, Miller returned to the English National Opera to direct his own production of La bohème , notable for its 1930s setting. This same production ran at

828-544: The comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with Peter Cook , Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett . Miller began directing operas in the 1970s. His 1982 production of a " Mafia "-styled Rigoletto was set in 1950s Little Italy, Manhattan . In its early days, he was an associate director at the National Theatre . He later ran the Old Vic Theatre . As a writer and presenter of more than a dozen BBC documentaries, Miller became

864-461: The dissection of a cadaver. For a time, he was a vice-president of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality . In 1971, he defended multiracial immigration to the UK at length with Enoch Powell on The Dick Cavett Show . In 1980, Miller was persuaded to join the troubled BBC Television Shakespeare project (1978–85). He became a producer (1980–82) and directed six of the plays himself, beginning with

900-592: The organisation. In addition, in 2005, OTSL adopted projected English-language supertitles in the theatre. From 1985 until his death in April 2007, the OTSL artistic director was Colin Graham . From 1991 to 2017, OTSL's music director was Stephen Lord . Lord subsequently held the title of OTSL music director emeritus until his resignation in June 2019, following publication of allegations of sexual misconduct. In June 2017, OTSL announced

936-545: The program sing in the chorus as well as in supporting roles and/or cover for leading and featured roles in mainstage productions of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. They also appear as soloists in the company's community outreach presentations. The Gerdine Young Artists are hired on an AGMA contract and receive a weekly salary, round-trip transportation, a sustenance allowance and accommodation during their engagement. This article about an opera or opera-related subject

972-512: The rest of their lives. In 1953, before leaving secondary school, he performed comedy several times on the BBC radio programme Under Twenty Parade . Miller studied natural sciences and medicine at St John's College, Cambridge ( MB BChir , 1959), where he was a member of the Cambridge Apostles and one of cast’s three Granta cartoonist, before going on to train at University College Hospital in London. While studying medicine, Miller

1008-502: The roots of his own atheism and investigating the history of atheism in the world. Individual conversations, debates and discussions for the series that could not be included due to time constraints were aired in a six-part series entitled The Atheism Tapes . He also appeared on a BBC Two programme in February 2004, called What the World Thinks of God appearing from New York. The original three-part series aired on public television in

1044-417: The scheduled departure of Robinson as its artistic director, effective September 2024. Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director , actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician . After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1950s, he came to prominence in the early 1960s in

1080-446: The show shortly after its move from London to Broadway in 1962, and took over as editor and presenter of the BBC 's arts programme Monitor in 1965. The Monitor appointment arose because Miller had approached Huw Wheldon about taking up a place on the BBC's director training course. Wheldon assured him that he would "pick it up as he went along". Miller's first experience of directing

1116-511: Was OTSL's music director from 1985 to 1988, and principal conductor from 1988 to 1991. Other notable U.S. singers, including Christine Brewer , Susan Graham , Denyce Graves , Dwayne Croft , Thomas Hampson , Jerry Hadley , Patricia Racette , Sylvia McNair , and Stephanie Blythe have made appearances in St. Louis productions. As of their 2022 Festival Season, OTSL has presented 33 world premieres, including: Champion , Twenty-Seven , and Shalimar

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1152-483: Was a novelist and biographer who was originally from County Cork , Ireland. Miller had an elder sister, Sarah (died 2006) who worked in television for many years and retained an involvement with Judaism that Miller, as an atheist , always eschewed. As a child Miller had a stammer and was attention-seeking , compensating for his stammer by speaking in foreign accents. He also developed an astonishing talent for mimicry, including chickens and steamtrains. The young Miller

1188-399: Was assessed by several child psychiatrists , including Donald Winnicott . He had many sessions, as a teenager with the psychiatrist Leopold Stein. Miller enjoyed the sessions and said that they "simply conversed about philosophy and Hughlings Jackson 's early neurological theories." Miller moved between several different schools prior to attending Taunton School , including for a time at

1224-497: Was contemporaneous with his friend Oliver Sacks' immersion in, and writing/publishing a book about Deaf Culture and deaf people entitled Seeing Voices . Miller then wrote and presented the television series Madness (1991) and Jonathan Miller on Reflection (1998). The five-part Madness series ran on PBS in 1991. It featured a brief history of madness and interviews with psychiatric researchers, clinical psychiatrists, and patients in therapy sessions. In 1992, Opera Omaha staged

1260-695: Was involved in the Cambridge Footlights , appearing in the revues Out of the Blue (1954) and Between the Lines (1955). Good reviews for these shows, and for Miller's performances in particular, led to his performing on a number of radio and television shows while continuing his studies; these included appearances on Saturday Night on the Light , Tonight and Sunday Night at the London Palladium . He qualified as

1296-528: Was to continue in future seasons and characterize the company's approach. This was achieved on a budget of $ 135,000. The young singers included Sheri Greenawald and Vinson Cole . During the early seasons, the company had a major influence with such achievements as first joint BBC / WNET telecast of Albert Herring and in 1983 the first appearance by any U.S. opera company at the Edinburgh International Festival . The first production of

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