Charles Mackerras

Charles Mackerras stood out as a conductor whose command extended across an extensive array of opera and symphonic works, earning special acclaim for his readings of Leoš Janáček and additional Czech composers. He also figured among the earliest figures to introduce historical performance concepts into opera productions mounted by present-day ensembles.

Born in Schenectady, New York, on November 17, 1925, Mackerras had an Australian engineer for a father; the family moved back to Sydney, Australia, when the future conductor was two, and that city became his childhood home. He began violin studies at age seven and later took up the flute, while also trying his hand at composition by completing a piano concerto at twelve and an opera during his early teenage years. Participation in Gilbert and Sullivan productions at school gave him an early taste of the lyric stage. His parents attempted to steer him away from music by placing him at the sports-focused boarding school The King's School, from which he was expelled. They then consented to his enrollment at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, where he studied oboe, piano, and composition and advanced quickly enough to secure various positions in Melbourne by the early 1940s. At nineteen he was appointed principal oboist of the ABC Sydney Orchestra.

In 1947 Mackerras left for England with the goal of advancing his conducting training. A scholarship allowed him to work with Václav Talich in Prague, where he began what would become a lifelong involvement with Janáček’s operas. Returning to England in 1948, he joined the Sadler’s Wells opera company as assistant conductor and made his London debut leading Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. His earliest recordings appeared on 78 rpm discs during these years. He held the post until 1954, during which time he led numerous operas, among them the British premiere of Janáček’s Káta Kabanová in 1951. From 1954 to 1956 he served as principal conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra while maintaining a lasting connection with Sadler’s Wells, which became the English National Opera in 1974. Already in the 1950s, well ahead of prevailing trends, Mackerras began investigating historical performance practices; he conducted the world premiere of the wind version of Handel’s Water Music in 1959 and, in 1965, directed a production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro that restored authentic ornamentation for the singers.

Between 1966 and 1970 Mackerras worked at the Hamburg State Opera in Germany, then returned to England as music director of Sadler’s Wells in 1970. He opened the new Sydney Opera House in Australia in 1973 and made his Metropolitan Opera debut in New York the following year, returning frequently thereafter. During the mid-1970s he revisited his earlier interest in Gilbert and Sullivan, appearing several times as guest conductor with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company. He served as chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony from 1982 to 1985, becoming the first Australian to occupy that position, and acted as music director of the Welsh National Opera from 1987 to 1992, where he mounted several widely praised Janáček stagings. In 1992 he was named principal guest conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, remaining in the role until 1995 and continuing thereafter as conductor laureate. Between 1993 and 1996 he also held principal guest posts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera. In 1998 he became music director of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and from 1987 onward he frequently led the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Later he served as president of Trinity College of Music, London. Mackerras continued to accept guest engagements until late in his career, directing the Vienna Philharmonic in pianist Alfred Brendel’s final concert in 2008. He led his last performance only weeks before his death in London on July 14, 2010. His extensive discography of more than 275 recordings featured numerous accounts of Janáček operas.