Paul Daniel (born 5 July 1958) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

conductor.

Biography

Early life

Daniel was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. As a boy, he sang in the choir of

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

, where he received musical training; then studied music at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. He learned conducting at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

in London, where his teachers included Sir

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

and Sir

Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his ...

Career

In 1982, Daniel received a position on the musical staff of the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

and remained there until 1987. In the late 1980s, he was the musical director of a number of amateur choirs, including Wokingham Choral Society, often featuring his future wife, the soprano Joan Rodgers. From 1987 to 1990, he was music director of Opera Factory. From 1990 to 1997, he was the musical director of

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

and principal conductor of the

English Northern Philharmonia The Orchestra of Opera North (or English Northern Philharmonia as recording name) is the orchestra that plays for the Opera North. It was founded as the English Northern Philharmonia, and changed its name during the period when Steven Sloane was O ...

. He attracted attention for his work with neglected operas, including Dukas' '' Ariane et Barbe-bleue'', Tippett's ''

King Priam ''King Priam'' is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's ''Iliad'', except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the ''Fabulae'' of Hyginus. The premiere was on 29 May 1962, at Coventry. ...

'',

Franz Schreker Franz Schreker (originally ''Schrecker''; 23 March 1878 – 21 March 1934) was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, Schreker developed a style characterized by aesthetic plurality (a mixture ...

's ''

Der Ferne Klang ''Der ferne Klang'' (''The Distant Sound'') is an opera by Franz Schreker, set to his own libretto. Begun in 1903, it was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 18 August 1912. It was the composer's breakthrough to fame, and was frequently pe ...

'', Korngold's ''

Violanta ''Violanta'', Op. 8, is a one-act opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The libretto is by the Austrian playwright Hans Müller-Einigen. It is Korngold's second opera, written when he was seventeen years old. Performance history It was premiered on ...

'', and Britten's ''

Gloriana ''Gloriana'', Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten to an English libretto by William Plomer, based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 ''Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History''. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera Hous ...

,'' and for his work with newer repertory. He conducted Opera North in its 1992 debut at

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

with ''

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

''; as well as the world premieres of

Michael Berkeley Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Baron Berkeley of Knighton, (born 29 May 1948) is an English composer, broadcaster on music and member of the House of Lords. Early life Berkeley is the eldest of the three sons of Elizabeth Freda (née Bernstein ...

's ''Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,'' and of

Benedict Mason Benedict Mason, born on 23 February 1954, is a British composer. Mason was educated at King's College, Cambridge (1971–75) and took a degree in film-making at the Royal College of Art (1975–78). He did not turn to composition until his early ...

's ''Playing Away at'' the

Munich Biennale The Munich Biennale (german: Münchener Biennale) is a contemporary opera and music theatre festival in the city of Munich. The full German name is ''Internationales Festival für neues Musiktheater'', literally: International Festival for New Musi ...

, where it won awards for best production and design. He became Music Director of English National Opera in September 1997. When ENO general director Dennis Marks departed about a month later, it unexpectedly required Daniel to assume a more public role as the organization's artistic face, until Nicholas Payne arrived to assume Marks's duties. One analysis of this situation was that the additional work distracted Daniel from developing a fuller rapport with the orchestra. In December 2003, he announced his resignation from ENO at the end of his contract in 2005. Toward the later part of his tenure, there were also reports of clashes between Daniel and ENO artistic director Sean Doran. He expressed concerns about the future of ENO in an April 2005 interview with ''The Guardian'', which led to ENO's Director of Marketing, Ian McKay, booing Daniel at his last performance as ENO music director. Daniel's work at ENO included the world premiere of

Mark-Anthony Turnage Mark-Anthony Turnage Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 June 1960) is a British composer of classical music. Biography Turnage was born in Corringham, Essex. He began composing at age nine and at fourteen began studying a ...

's ''The Silver Tassie'', which was recorded for commercial release. Daniel guest-conducted the

West Australian Symphony Orchestra The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , WA ...

(WASO) in 1995, and again in April 2006. In May 2007, he was named the WASO's next principal conductor as of January 2009, with an initial contract through December 2011. In November 2010, the WASO announced the extension of his contract through December 2013, at which time he concluded his WASO tenure. Daniel became principal guest conductor of the

Real Filharmonía de Galicia Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

(

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...

) in 2007. In January 2012, he was named the orchestra's next principal conductor and artistic adviser, as of January 2013, with an initial contract of three years. In July 2012, the

Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine The ''Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine'' (ONBA) is a French symphony orchestra based in Bordeaux. Its principal concert venue is the ''Palais des sports''. In addition to its regular symphony concerts, the ONBA serves as the accompanying orches ...

(ONBA) announced Daniel's appointment as its next music director, effective with the 2013–2014 season. He had previously guest-conducted the ONBA in 2006 and 2011. In May 2017, the ONBA announced the extension of Daniel's contract through 2021. Daniel's honours include an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

in February 1998 for outstanding achievement in opera, and a

Gramophone Award The Gramophone Classical Music Awards, launched in 1977, are one of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry. They are often viewed as equivalent to or surpassing the American Grammy award, and refer ...

in 1999 for his English music series on

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about 1 ...

. He was made a

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 ...

in the 2000 New Year's Honours list. In September 2005, he conducted the

Last Night of the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert H ...

for the first time. Daniel has two daughters from his past marriage to opera singer

Joan Rodgers Joan Rodgers C.B.E. (born 1956, Cleator Moor, Cumbria, England) is an English operatic soprano. She was married to the conductor Paul Daniel, and married Alan Samson in 2013. She studied singing with Audrey Langford. She made her professional oper ...

. The marriage ended in divorce; Rodgers married Alan Samson in 2013. Daniel's commercial recordings, which include performances with Rodgers, are featured on a number of record labels, including Chandos, Naxos, Linn, and Aeon.

References

External links

Groves Artists agency page on Paul Daniel

West Australian Symphony Orchestra page on Paul Daniel

"Paul Daniel takes Spanish appointment". Ingpen & Williams agency press release, January 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Paul 1958 births Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Alumni of King's College, Cambridge English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) Opera North Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry Living people Honorary Members of the Royal Academy of Music Laurence Olivier Award winners 21st-century British conductors (music)