James Robertson

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 ...

(17 June 1912 – 18 May 1991) was an English conductor, best known as musical director of Sadler's Wells Opera. Robertson was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, before studying music at the Leipzig Conservatory and the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London.Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

, 29 May 1991, p. 12 He joined the music staff of Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1937 and became chorus master and repetiteur of the Carl Rosa Opera in 1938.Loveland, Kenneth
"Robertson, James"
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, accessed 2 June 2011 After the Second World War, in which he served in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, he was appointed musical director of the Sadler's Wells Opera in 1946, serving in the post until 1954. Together with the conductor Michael Mudie and the administrator Norman Tucker, he formed a triumvirate that ran the company. In 1954 Robertson left to become conductor of the New Zealand National Orchestra (now the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra), succeeding Michael Bowles. He returned to Britain in 1958, conducting the Carl Rosa company and as a regular guest conductor at Sadler's Wells. Robertson was opera adviser to the Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1960, followed by a further spell in New Zealand, where he was artistic director of the National Opera (1962–3). In 1964 he became director of the London Opera Centre, where he encouraged many young singers who later achieved success on the operatic stage. He retired as director in 1977, though remaining a consultant. He returned once more to New Zealand, conducting there from 1978 to 1981. Robertson died in

Ruabon Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...

, North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, aged 79.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, James (conductor) 1912 births 1991 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) Alumni of the Royal College of Music Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Musicians from Liverpool New Zealand Symphony Orchestra people 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century British male musicians 20th-century British musicians