John Berry (arts administrator)

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John Edward Berry CBE (born 22 July 1961) is a British-born musician and arts administrator.

Biography[edit]

Berry graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in 1983; training at that institution as a clarinetist.[1] He subsequently studied with Gervase de Peyer, supported by a scholarship to the Mannes College of Music in New York City. In 1984, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, and returned to the UK for successful treatment at The Christie Hospital in Manchester. He was unable to continue playing the clarinet professionally after his illness, and redirected his career to arts administration.

Berry served as the founding director of the Sounds Alive Music Centres from 1986 to 1993. He then founded the Brereton International Music Symposium, and served as its director from 1990 to 1997 working with artists such as Thomas Hampson, Birgit Nilsson and Brigitte Fassbaender.

English National Opera[edit]

In 1995, Berry joined English National Opera (ENO) as casting director, and served in the post from 1995 to 2003. He instigated the first 'Jerwood Young Artists Programme', which later developed into 'The ENO Harewood Artists'. He became Director of Opera Programming in 2003, and was subsequently named ENO's artistic director in November 2005. The last appointment was controversial, as the ENO board made the appointment without external interviews.[2] As ENO's artistic director, he brought in artists from outside the opera world into ENO productions, including film directors (Anthony Minghella, Terry Gilliam, Penny Woolcock, Mike Leigh), theatre directors (Rupert Goold, Simon McBurney, Fiona Shaw and Improbable Theatre), visual artists (Matthew Barney, Anish Kapoor) and choreographers (Mark Morris, Michael Keegan-Dolan). His acclaimed co-producing policy extended ENO's reach to more than 40 opera houses around the world, the most prominent being the relationship with the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, which resulted in more than a dozen opera collaborations, including the recently acclaimed Akhnaten (Philip Glass) and Porgy and Bess (Gershwin).[3][4] Berry championed major American composers during his time, including John Adams, Philip Glass and Nico Muhly.[5] ENO performed a new production of John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer in February 2012. This controversial piece was performed to great critical acclaim.[6]

Despite Berry's skepticism about cinema relays of operas in May 2012,[7] in December 2013 ENO announced a new relationship with Altive Media to take ENO's productions into cinemas. A good example of this new approach was the success of Mike Leigh's production of The Pirates of Penzance, which broke box office records.[8][9] Other developments led by Berry at the company included, in 2014, a new relationship with restaurateur Ben Warner and Benugo for the redevelopment of the London Coliseum foyer spaces, and a new commercial relationship with Lord Grade and Michael Linnit (the GradeLinnit Company) to produce semi-staged musicals,[10] beginning with the critically acclaimed Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim, featuring actress Emma Thompson and opera singer Bryn Terfel.[11] The last actions were in response to the 29% reduction in Arts Council England (ACE) funding.[12][13]

For the first time in its history, Berry took the ENO out of the London Coliseum into venues including The Young Vic Theatre,[14] the Barbican Theatre,  Hampstead Theatre and produced a ground-breaking production with the acclaimed immersive theatre group, Punchdrunk, in a disused building (former headquarters of a pharmaceutical company) to the east of London, several stops along the Docklands Light Railway at Gallions Reach.[15]

Berry also led important television projects. In 2009 a partnership between ENO and Sky Arts led to the TV broadcasting of Jonathan Miller's production of La bohème, which aired on Sky Arts HD and Sky Arts 2 simultaneously.[16] In 2011, for the first time, a live opera, Mike Figgis' production of Lucrezia Borgia, was aired in 3D and broadcast by Sky TV.[17][18] Later in the same year, the BBC filmed Terry Gilliam's production of La damnation de Faust for BBC Television.

Awards won during Berry's tenure include:

In February 2015, ACE placed ENO under special measures. This had followed public revelations of disputes between the outgoing chairman of ENO, Martyn Rose, and the ENO board, with unfounded and uncorroborated accusations by Rose that ENO had mismanaged finances under Berry's watch,[19] and the departure of Henriette Götz as executive director in January 2015 after a short period in the post.[20] ENO publicly countered Rose's accusation by stating that during Berry's tenure, ENO "turned over an unrestricted surplus of £2.4M."[21] Martyn Rose left ENO in January 2015 after only 21 months in his post. In July 2015, following the widely acclaimed 2014-2015 season at ENO, Berry stood down as ENO longest serving leader of the company, stating "My work is now done."[22][23]

Bolshoi Theater of Russia[edit]

In July 2016 Berry was appointed creative advisor to the Bolshoi Theatre.[24] In October 2017, he negotiated a co-production agreement between the Bolshoi and Metropolitan Opera New York for three operas, Lohengrin, Aida and Salome, all featuring Anna Netrebko.[25] Other upcoming projects with close collaborators of Berry will include David Alden's 2021 production of Ariodante.[26]

Simon McBurney’s new production of Khovanshchina was due to premiere in June 2022 but was cancelled due to the war in the Ukraine. This was to be Berry’s final project with the Bolshoi.[27]

Opera Ventures[edit]

Berry founded the charity Opera Ventures in March 2017, to create new productions of contemporary opera by living composers.[28][29] The unique operating model means that more than 90% of donations goes directly into productions.[30] In August 2017, Opera Ventures premiered its first new production, Greek, by Mark-Anthony Turnage, co-produced with Scottish Opera and in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Festival, followed by performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York.[31][32] Its second production was Breaking the Waves by Missy Mazzoli, co-produced with Scottish Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique in association with Bristol Old Vic. It premiered at the King's Theater in Edinburgh on 21 August 2019 with performances until 24 August.[33][34] It opened at the Adelaide Festival in March 2020 to critical acclaim.[35][36] Performances in collaboration with the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by their music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, due to take place in July 2020, were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new production of Ainadamar by Osvaldo Golijov, the UK staged premiere, opened to public acclaim on 29 October 2022, co-produced with Scottish Opera, the Metropolitan Opera New York City, Detroit Opera and Welsh National Opera.[37][38]

Scenario2[edit]

In November 2018 he officially launched a commercial theatre production company, Scenario 2, together with co-director Anthony Lilley OBE.[39][40] Its first production is The Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel featuring Renée Fleming and Disney artist Dove Cameron, premiered at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in London on 14 June 2019 with performances until 6 July 2019.[41][42][43] The show then moved on to the USA, where its opening night took place on 12 October in Los Angeles in collaboration with Los Angeles Opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.[44][45][46] It then moved to Chicago from 14 to 20 December 2019 with outstanding reviews.[47] Its premiere in August 2020 at the Sydney Opera House was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with future dates to be announced early 2021. Scenario Two is also preparing a new staged musical production about the life of the late Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, directed by Hollywood film director and creator of The Greatest Showman, Michael Gracey.[48]

Terry Gilliam’s production of Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim opened at the Theatre Royal Bath in August 2022 to 3, 4 and 5 star reviews.[49][50][51][52][53]

Other work[edit]

Other work has included employment as an artist manager at Harrison Parrott (1992–1994), a consultant to The Hallé Orchestra from 1998 to 2002, and as an advisor to several USA opera companies, such as Santa Fe Opera. He was an artistic and broadcasting Consultant (1998–2006) for several video productions of operas, including:

  • BBC Films: Turn of the Screw (directed by Katie Mitchell);
  • Channel 4: Trouble in Tahiti (directed by Tom Cairns), winner of Best Performance Film at the Vienna TV Awards, Gramophone's Best DVD Award and the DVD 'Or de l'Année Award from Diapason magazine in France
  • Channel 4: John Adams' opera The Death of Klinghoffer (directed by Penny Woolcock) winner of the Prix Italia for TV Performing Arts and nominated for the South Bank Show Opera Award.

Berry was adviser to the Vienna State Opera from July 2018 to August 2019. The 2020–21 season opened with ENO’s production of Anthony Minghella's Madama Butterfly.[54]

Personal life[edit]

Berry is married to the mezzo-soprano Pippa Dames-Longworth. He was made a CBE in the Queens Birthday Honours in 2014, for Services to Music.[55]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kaya Burgess (19 July 2016). "Artistic director forced out of ENO lands top job at Bolshoi". The Times.
  2. ^ Charlotte Higgins (10 March 2006). "Is this the toughest job in music?". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. ^ Aspden, Peter (13 February 2010). "How the Met and ENO work in tandem". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  4. ^ Mark Brown (12 December 2013). "English National Opera to broadcast productions live to cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  5. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (22 October 2013). "Connections in an Amorphous World". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "The Death of Klinghoffer – review". The Guardian. 26 February 2012.
  7. ^ Matt Trueman (10 May 2012). "English National Opera chief attacks live cinema broadcasts". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Mike Leigh's The Pirates of Penzance breaks cinema screening record". The Stage. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Mike Leigh's 'Pirates of Penzance' breaks box office records". Screen. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  10. ^ David Lister (28 April 2014). "The London Coliseum: A revolution at the opera". The Independent. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Review: Emma Thompson returns to London stage after 25 years". The Independent. April 2015.
  12. ^ Mark Brown (12 February 2015). "English National Opera told to improve or face funding axe". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  13. ^ "ENO is a showcase for talent and innovation". Financial Times. 8 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  14. ^ "The Return of Ulysses, ENO, Young Vic". 25 March 2011.
  15. ^ "The future belongs to Punchdrunk".
  16. ^ "Opera lets in cameras behind the scenes". The Daily Telegraph.
  17. ^ Brown, Mark (8 January 2011). "English National Opera and Sky to produce first live 3D opera". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  18. ^ "How the arts world is embracing 3D cinema". BBC News. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  19. ^ Clark, Nick (25 January 2015). "ENO's outgoing chairman Martyn Rose demands artistic director John Berry be sacked". Independent.
  20. ^ Anita Singh (12 February 2015). "English National Opera placed in 'special measures'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  21. ^ Mark Brown (26 January 2015). "English National Opera rejects outgoing chairman's claim of losses". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  22. ^ Imogen Tilden; Maev Kennedy (10 July 2015). "John Berry steps down from English National Opera". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  23. ^ "John Berry was never going to be content just serving up repertory revivals". The Guardian. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  24. ^ Alberge, Dalya (18 July 2016). "Top post at Bolshoi for former ENO head John Berry". Financial Times. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  25. ^ Sophia Kishkovsky (9 October 2017). "Anna Netrebko Will Star in Three Met-Bolshoi Productions". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  26. ^ "Ariodante". www.bolshoi.ru.
  27. ^ "The Times". The Times.
  28. ^ "John Berry launches not-for-profit opera company". Rhinegold. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  29. ^ "Former ENO boss John Berry launches not-for-profit opera company | News | The Stage". The Stage. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  30. ^ Murray, Sarah (September 2017). "Funding opera: Direct to the stage". Financial Times.
  31. ^ Joe Hill-Gibbins (2 August 2017). "Opera director Joe Hill-Gibbins: How I got an Oedipus complex". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  32. ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (30 November 2018). "The Orchestra Brawls in a 'Beer and Pizza' Oedipus Opera". The New York Times.
  33. ^ Maddocks, Fiona (24 August 2019). "The week in classical: Breaking the Waves; Eugene Onegin – review". The Observer. London. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  34. ^ Fisher, Neil (22 August 2019). "Breaking the Waves review — a spine‑tingling roar". The Times. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  35. ^ Hanusiak, Xenia (16 March 2020). "Festival Review: Breaking The Waves". The Adelaide Review. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  36. ^ Nightingale, John. "★★★★☆ Breaking the Waves (Opera Ventures & Scottish Opera at Adelaide Festival)". Limelight. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  37. ^ Simon Thompson (31 October 2022). "Ainadamar review — crackling with energy". The Times.
  38. ^ Keith Bruce (31 October 2022). "Review: Ainadamar at Theatre Royal, five stars". The Herald. Glasgow.
  39. ^ "Former ENO Artistic Director John Berry CBE Launches New Commercial Theatre Venture". Broadway World. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  40. ^ Giverny Masso (8 November 2018). "Former ENO artistic director John Berry launches commercial theatre company with musicals focus". The Stage. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  41. ^ Shenton, Mark (19 June 2019). "Review – The Light in the Piazza at the Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  42. ^ Bano, Tim. "Review of The Light in the Piazza starring Renée Fleming". The Stage. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  43. ^ "The Light in the Piazza, RFH review – Broadway musical looks good and sounds even better". theartsdesk.com. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  44. ^ "The Light in the Piazza: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  45. ^ "Review: Renée Fleming brings radiant star power to a flickering Light in the Piazza". Los Angeles Times. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  46. ^ Nockin, Maria. "BWW Review: The Light in the Piazza at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  47. ^ Jones, Chris. "Review: The Light in the Piazza at Lyric Opera is exquisite, starring Renée Fleming". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  48. ^ Alberge, Dalya (4 August 2019). "Encore! Hi-tech brings Pavarotti back to life for new stage musical". The Observer. London. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  49. ^ Letts, Quentin. "The Sunday Times". The Times.
  50. ^ "The arts desk". 26 August 2022.
  51. ^ "The Stage".
  52. ^ Davis, Clive. "The Times".
  53. ^ "Musical Theatre Review".
  54. ^ "Wiener Staatsoper: Madama Butterfly".
  55. ^ "Queen's birthday honours list 2014: GCB, DBE and CBE". The Guardian. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

External links[edit]

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