Sir Reginald Goodall (13 July 1901 – 5 May 1990) was an English conductor and singing coach noted for his performances of the operas of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and for conducting the premieres of several operas by

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 ...

Early life

Goodall was born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

, and studied at 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 ...

and elsewhere in Europe. In 1929, he became the organist and choirmaster at St Alban's Church, Holborn.

Career

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Goodall conducted the Wessex Philharmonic, a freelance orchestra which included some ex-members of the

Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, ...

. In 1944, Goodall joined the

Sadler's Wells Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

company, forerunner 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 ...

. An early triumph was his conducting of the premiere of

's ''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

'' in 1945. He conducted this again later at 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 ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, where he had first conducted in 1947. He was an assistant conductor to the music director of the Royal Opera House,

Karl Rankl Karl Rankl (1 October 1898 – 6 September 1968) was a British conductor and composer who was of Austrian birth. A pupil of the composers Schoenberg and Webern, he conducted at opera houses in Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia until fleeing f ...

, in the late 1940s. Goodall also conducted at

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hundr ...

, including another Britten premiere, this time of ''

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 ...

'', which was also his first recording, with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

. Goodall spent much of his career conducting orchestras at the Royal Opera House and Sadler's Wells Opera. At Covent Garden, he was overshadowed by

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

. When Solti was made Music Director of the Royal Opera in 1961, altercations soon followed, leading Goodall to cease conducting duties and withdraw to an upper-floor room, nicknamed "

Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...

", where he remained available to singers for coaching on request. For Goodall, conducting success finally came with an appointment at Sadler's Wells, where from 1967 he worked in close collaboration with the head of the music staff, Leonard Hancock. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Goodall conducted several celebrated Wagner productions at Sadler's Wells Opera that reversed the decline in his prestige and established him as one of the leading Wagner conductors of his time. He conducted '' The Mastersingers'' in 1968, and the full

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelung ...

from 1970 to 1973, both productions sung in English. His last public performance was in 1987 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

, London where he led the English National Opera Company in a performance of Act 3 of Wagner's ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival'' ...

''. The cast included

Gwynne Howell Gwynne Howell (born 13 June 1938) is a Welsh operatic bass, known particularly for his performances of Verdi and Wagner roles. Life and career Born in Gorseinon, Wales, he studied at the RMCM, where he sang Leporello in concert, and Hunding, ...

(Gurnemanz), Warren Ellsworth (Parsifal),

Neil Howlett Neil Howlett (24 July 1934 – 21 May 2020) was an English operatic baritone who sang leading roles in major opera houses and festivals in the UK and abroad, including the Royal Opera House, Teatro Colón, and the English National Opera, where h ...

(Amfortas) and Shelagh Squires (Kundry).

Fascist Sympathies and Holocaust Denial

Passionate about all things German, in the 1930s Goodall openly sympathised with the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

regime, which he perceived as a defender of Germanic cultural traditions. Goodall also actively supported

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...

, and he eventually joined the party just five days after Britain's declaration of war on Germany. He maintained his outspoken pro-Nazi views during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the uninhibited expression of which once led him to be briefly questioned by the police. Goodall was known to refer to

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

as a "BBC Jewish plot".

Reputation and Legacy

A self-effacing man, Goodall achieved his own prominence in later life once he was able to come out from under the shadow of some of the great German and Austrian conductors of his era, for whom he understudied, conducted rehearsals and provided vocal coaching. Goodall was appreciated for his attention to detail and Wagner's annotations, as well as for his extensive rehearsals. Goodall became much loved by many of the musicians with whom he worked over long periods, building up a mutual understanding and rapport with British singers especially, such as

Rita Hunter Rita Hunter (15 August 193329 April 2001) was a British operatic dramatic soprano. Biography Rita Hunter was born in Wallasey, Merseyside and lived in Limekiln Lane. During her childhood, her parents, both fans of music hall, would take Rita ...

and

Alberto Remedios Alberto Remedios (27 February 193511 June 2016) was a British operatic tenor, especially noted for his interpretations of Wagner's heldentenor roles. Biography Alberto Remedios was born in Liverpool and began his working life as a shipyard w ...

, whose careers he fostered. John Lucas published an authorised biography of Goodall in 1993.Matthew Rye, Review of ''Reggie: The Life of Reginald Goodall''. ''Musical Times'', 134(1808), 585 (1993).

References

Sources

External links

"The First Digital Tristan - a talk with the Maestro, the Hero and the Boss"
by Bruce Duffie. Wagner News, February 1982.
Stereophile review of Goodall's ''Ring'', reissued on CD 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodall, Reginald 1901 births 1990 deaths English conductors (music) British male conductors (music) Alumni of the Royal College of Music People detained under Defence Regulation 18B Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods People from Lincoln, England Place of death missing English fascists British Union of Fascists politicians 20th-century British conductors (music) 20th-century English musicians Musicians from Lincolnshire 20th-century British male musicians