Christopher Keene (December 21, 1946 – October 8, 1995) was an American conductor.
Early life and education
Keene was born in 1946 in
Berkeley, California
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...
, the son of Yvonne (née Cyr) and Jim Keene. His mother was of
Acadian
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, and Scottish descent. His parents divorced in 1953 and his mother remarried to Jim San Jule in 1954 until their divorce in 1970.Smith, p. 6 He has three siblings: Philip Keene (born 1941),
Elodie Keene
Elodie Keene (born April 10, 1949 in Berkeley, California) is an American film director, television director, producer and editor. As a television director, her credits include '' ER'', ''NYPD Blue'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Charm ...
(born 1949), and Tamsen (née San Jule) Calhoon (born 1956). His mother remarried to biochemist Daniel E. Koshland Jr. in 2000, of the Haas family, the owners of
Levi Strauss & Co
Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...
.
Keene studied the piano and cello in his youth. A highly self motivated student, he organized neighborhood productions of plays and operas while growing up and directed ensembles at his high school while a student. At the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
he earned a degree in history instead of music; reasoning that he didn't want to waste his time re-learning skills and content he had already mastered.
Career
Keene made his first foray into opera conducting in a 1965 production of
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
's ''
The Rape of Lucretia
''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '.
Performance history
The opera was fi ...
'' at Berkeley. In 1966 he became Assistant Conductor at the
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California.
History
Gaetano Merola (1923–1953)
Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...
under
Kurt Herbert Adler
Kurt Herbert Adler (2 April 1905 – 9 February 1988) was an Austrian-born American conductor and opera house director.
Biography
Adler was born in Vienna, Austria, to a Jewish family; his mother, Ida Bauer, was one of the first patients of ...
, and served in the same capacity at the
San Diego Opera The San Diego Opera Association (SDO) is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California. It incorporated in 1965, presenting operas under the name of the San Diego Opera. At Adler's recommendation,
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept h ...
hired Keene to conduct ''
The Saint of Bleecker Street
''The Saint of Bleecker Street'' is an opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti to an original English libretto by the composer. It was first performed at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on December 27, 1954. David Poleri and Davis Cunni ...
'' at the 1968
Spoleto Festival
The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...
. He remained associated with the Spoleto Festival for many years, serving as Music Director there from 1972 to 1976. In 1977 he co-founded the
Spoleto Festival USA
Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of America's major performing arts festivals. It was founded in 1977 by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who sought to establish a counterpart to the Festival dei Due ...
, where he was Music Director from 1977 to 1980.
From 1969 to 1971 Keene was Music Director of
Eliot Feld
Eliot Feld (born July 5, 1942) is an American modern ballet choreographer, performer, teacher, and director. Feld works in contemporary ballet. His company and schools, including the Feld Ballet and Ballet Tech, are deeply committed to dance and ...
's American Ballet Company. In 1969 he was honored with the Julius Rudel Award for conducting.
In 1969, Keene joined the staff of the
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, du ...
, where he debuted the following year with Ginastera's ''Don Rodrigo'' (with
Salvador Novoa
Salvador Novoa (born in Mexico City, Mexico, on October 30, 1937; died on December 7, 2021) was a Mexican dramatic tenor. He was especially known for the operas of Alberto Ginastera.
Novoa made his operatic debut with the Instituto Nacional de ...
). He was to conduct a great array of operas at that theatre, including the world premiere of Menotti's '' The Most Important Man'' (with
Harry Theyard
Harry Theyard (né Harry L. Theard, Jr, on 28 September 1929, in New Orleans) is an American operatic tenor.
Theyard is a 1957 graduate of Loyola University of the South, where he studied under Dorothy Hulse, who was also the teacher of Audrey Sc ...
, 1971), as well as ''La traviata'', ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (with Michael Devlin in the title role), ''The Makropoulos Case'', ''Susannah'', ''Tosca'' (with
Marisa Galvany
Marisa Galvany (born June 19, 1936) is an American soprano who had an active international career performing in operas and concerts up into the early 2000s. Known for the great intensity of her performances, Galvany particularly excelled in port ...
), ''Beatrix Cenci'', ''Faust'', ''Die Zauberflöte'' (with Syble Young as the Queen of the Night), ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'', ''Ariadne auf Naxos'', ''Médée'' (in the Italian version), ''I puritani'' (with
Beverly Sills
Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s.
Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verdi, she was especially renowned f ...
), ''Salome'', ''A Village Romeo and Juliet'', ''La fanciulla del West'', ''Andrea Chénier'', ''L'amour des trois oranges'', ''The Turn of the Screw'' (with
Phyllis Treigle
Phyllis Treigle (born May 6, 1960) is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, and is a noted American soprano, and the daughter of the bass-baritone Norman Treigle. She graduated from Loyola University of the South's College of Music and made her ...
as Miss Jessel),
Jay Reise
Jay Reise (born 1950) is an American composer.
Biography
Reise spent his childhood surrounded by classical music and jazz, but began his composition studies with Jimmy Giuffre and Hugh Hartwell in 1970. After graduating at Hamilton College in 1 ...
's ''Rasputin'', Schoenberg's ''Moses und Aron'', Zimmermann's ''Die Soldaten'', and
Stewart Wallace
Stewart Wallace (born 1960, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American composer and cantor.
Biography
The son of Marsha J. Wallace and Dr. Sidney Wallace, Wallace is one of three siblings in his family. Wallace attended the University of Texas ...
's ''Harvey Milk''.
In 1976 Keene conducted the world premiere of
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept h ...
Opera Company of Philadelphia
Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festival O ...
. He also conducted at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...
during a single season, a double-bill of ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' (with
Teresa Stratas
Teresa Stratas (born May 26, 1938) is a retired operatic soprano from Canada of Greek descent. She is especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's '' Lulu''.
Early life and career
Stratas was born Anastasia Stratakis t ...
as Nedda) in 1971. From 1974 to 1989, he was Music Director of the Artpark Festival in Buffalo, and from 1975 to 1984 held the same post at the
Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra (SSO) was a 79-member orchestra located in Syracuse, New York. In its time it was the 43rd largest orchestra in the United States and performed a variety of programs including the Post-Standard Classics Series and M ...
. He was Founder of the
Long Island Philharmonic
The Long Island Philharmonic, based in Melville, New York was founded in 1979 by folk singer Harry Chapin, Maestro Christopher Keene, and a group of Long Island's community and business leaders. On February 8, 2016, an announcement was made th ...
in 1979, and directed it until 1990. In 1976, he led the world premiere of
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Sessions Floyd (June 11, 1926September 30, 2021) was an American composer primarily known for his operas. These stage works, for which he wrote the librettos, typically engage with themes from the American South, particularly the Post- ...
's '' Bilby's Doll'' at the Houston Grand Opera.
At the City Opera, Sills named him Music Director from 1982 to 1986, and he succeeded her as General Director in 1989, a position he held until his death. Keene had undergone treatment for
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
lymphoma
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
resulting from
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
, at New York Hospital. His last performance, at the City Opera, was of Hindemith's ''
Mathis der Maler
''Mathis der Maler'' (''Matthias the Painter'' is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The work's protagonist, Matthias Grünewald, was a historical figure who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspi ...
''.
He was seen over
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
conducting ''The Consul'' (1977) and ''Vanessa'' (1978) from Spoleto USA, and
Frank Corsaro
Frank Corsaro (December 22, 1924, New York City, New York – November 11, 2017, Suwanee, GeorgiaRobert ViagasNight of the Iguana Director Frank Corsaro Is Dead at 92/ref>) was one of America's foremost stage directors of opera and theatre. His Bro ...
's City Opera productions of ''Madama Butterfly'' (1982) and ''Carmen'' (1984). Keene's discography includes the first recording of
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
' ''Satyagraha'' (for CBS/Sony, 1984), and John Corigliano's score to
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...
's film, ''Altered States'' (on RCA, 1980). With the Syracuse Symphony, Keene conducted and recorded "
The Celestial Hawk
''The Celestial Hawk'' is an album of contemporary classical music written by Keith Jarrett and performed by Jarrett with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christopher Keene. It was recorded in March 1980Keith Jarrett discographThe Cel ...
", a piano concerto written and performed by
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett (born May 8, 1945) is an American jazz and classical music pianist and composer. Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey and later moved on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s, he has also been a ...
(on ECM, 1980); the recording was made at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...