Anthony de Villeneuve Russell-Roberts

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, (born 25 March 1944) is a British businessman and opera manager.

Early life and education

Russell-Roberts is the son of Francis Douglas Russell-Roberts and the pianist Edith Margaret Gertrudis Russell-Roberts, ''née'' Ashton. He is the nephew of the dancer and choreographer

Sir Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositi ...

and residual legatee of Ashton's will. Russell-Roberts was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and, after Voluntary Service Overseas in British Honduras, now Belize, (1961–62), at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics ( BA, MA). After graduation, having decided that he was unlikely to succeed in his preferred career as a professional painter, Russell-Roberts became a general management trainee at the brewers Watney Mann (1965–68). In 1968 he joined the property agents Lane Fox and Partners, becoming a partner in 1971. In 1976, his career took a change of direction when he became a

stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including the overseeing of the rehearsal p ...

for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and then in 1977 for Kent Opera. From 1977 until 1980, he was assistant to the general director of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, and from 1981 until 1983 he was artistic administrator of

Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

. In 1983, he returned to the

as administrative director of the Royal Ballet until his retirement in March 2009. In the

New Year Honours List The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

2004, Russell-Roberts was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire "for services to dance".

Personal life

Russell-Roberts was married to the late Jane Holkenfeldt. And has a stepson, Ingo Ferruzzi, and two daughters, Tabitha and Juliet from his former marriage to Anne Dunhill. He was a member of the Garrick Club. From 2000 to 2008, he was a non-executive director of pharmaceutical company,

Amarin Corporation Amarin may refer to: *Amarin Corporation, an Irish-American biopharmaceutical company * Amarinus, a Roman Catholic saint associated with Saint Praejectus *Saint-Amarin, a commune in France (named after the saint) *Amarin Group, a Thai media and pub ...

Sources and further information

*In 1988 inherited Anthony Russell-Roberts Frederick Ashton's Suffolk house and a portfolio of ballets, which can be viewed o
www.ashtonballets.comBreakfast at the Royal Opera House, BBC News, 6 December 2002, including a link to a video of ''Breakfasts interview with Russell-RobertsNew Year Honours List 2004, BBC News, 31 December 2003
*[http://www.washingtonlife.com/directories/photos/?letter=A&name=Anthony-Russell-Roberts Photograph of Russell-Roberts from ''Washington Life Magazine'' with Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas DBE (Chairman of the Royal Opera House) His Excellency Mr Karim Kawar (Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United States) on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Royal Ballet]
Suzanne McCarthy, 'Anthony Russell-Roberts', ''Ballet.co Magazine'', July 2002
*'RUSSELL-ROBERTS, Anthony de Villeneuve', ''Debrett's People of Today'' (12th edn, London: Debrett's Peerage, 1999), p. 1713 *appointed a

in 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell-Roberts, Anthony 1944 births Administrators of The Royal Ballet Alumni of New College, Oxford British arts administrators Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people People educated at Eton College