Christopher Keith Doig (4 April 1948 – 13 October 2011) was a New Zealand opera singer and sports administrator. In 1972 he won New Zealand's

Mobil Song Quest The Lexus Song Quest (formerly known as the Mobil Song Quest) is a biennial opera singing competition, held in New Zealand since 1956. The competition is managed and presented by Tāwhiri, which also runs the New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Win ...

and studied at the

Vienna Music Academy The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

before becoming principal tenor at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

. After ten years in Austria, Doig returned to New Zealand, where he was appointed chief executive of

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New Z ...

and was a member of the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

board. In 1990, Doig was the artistic director of the

New Zealand Festival of the Arts Aotearoa New Zealand Festival is a multi-arts biennial festival based in Wellington New Zealand that started in 1986. Previous names are the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts, New Zealand International Arts Festival, New Zealand Arts ...

. He staged Wagner's ''

Die meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'', starring

Donald McIntyre Sir Donald Conroy McIntyre (born 22 October 1934 in Auckland) is an operatic bass-baritone from New Zealand. Operatic career McIntyre made his formal debut as Zaccaria in ''Nabucco'', at the Welsh National Opera, in 1959. In 1964 he created ...

Awards

In 1990, Doig was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

, for services to the arts, in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours, and in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours he was made a

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to the arts and sport.

Family

Christopher Doig had four children: Rachel, Paul, and Brendon with his first wife Jane Doig and one child Lukewith his second wife Suzanne Prain. At the time of his death he had 10 grandchildren. He also had three brothers an older brother John Doig and two younger brothers Quentin and Hamish Doig. His parents names were Roger and Ngarie. Doig died on 13 October 2011 after a two-year battle with

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

, aged 63.

References

1948 births 2011 deaths Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand cricket administrators New Zealand operatic tenors New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Christchurch Deaths from colorectal cancer Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Musicians from Christchurch {{NewZealand-sport-bio-stub