RPS Lectures - 2003
Graham Vick: Inclusion or be Damned
Saturday 18 October 2003 5.30pm, LSO St Luke's, London
In Inclusion or be Damned, Graham Vick, innovative opera director, argued that social change should be reflected in the work of opera houses and companies.
"The future health & development of opera depends on its embracing the whole of contemporary society. And that means being a part of it and being prepared to change as rapidly and radically as society itself. The nature of what has, since the mid 19th century, become a lumbering and increasingly unmanageable art form means it has lost the agility and flexibility to respond to the times…"
Graham Vick is one of the foremost opera directors of our day. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Birmingham Opera Company where he has received many plaudits for his bold and innovative approach. His production of Votzek for BOC won the RPS Music Award for Audience Development in 2001.
The annual RPS Lecture is a high profile public forum which examines aspects of the future of music. Recent Lecturers have included Ernest Fleischmann, former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, 2000, Nicholas Kenyon, Director BBC Proms, 2001 and composer and broadcaster Michael Berkeley, 2002.
This year's lecture took place in the stunning surroundings of St Luke's, only a short walk from the Barbican Centre. The formerly derelict Hawksmoor Church has been newly restored as the LSO's education centre preserving the building's heritage value, while creating a working space capable of supporting cutting-edge music making and education activities.
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