John Christie Award 50th Anniversary Celebration

A star-studded concert at The Royal College of Music in London on 12th October was the overture for a spectacular night of fundraising for one of the UK’s oldest and most revered charitable foundations.

The Worshipful Company of Musicians in association with Glyndebourne Opera have, for 50 years, awarded the prize to countless singers who have gone on to be recognised as some the world’s greatest opera stars.

Presented by the legendary tenor Ryland Davies and in the presence of Lady Christie, the concert last night included performances by Louise Alder, Kate Royal and Duncan Rock, all previous winners of the award and whose trailblazing interpretations are currently lighting up the international opera stage. The current recipient, Nikola Hillebrand, also gave a performance demonstrating why the talented German soprano was announced by Glyndebourne as the 2015 award winner.

This hugely important event successfully secured funding for future generations of opera talent, and with a phenomenal £90,300 received by the end of the evening and more to follow in the coming days from distinguished members and guests of the Musicians’ Company, the target of £100,000 is set to be reached.

(Left to right: Gus Christie, Lady Christie, Ryland Davies
and the Master, Kathleen Duncan OBE)

Photographs: Chris Christodoulou

Download a PDF of the programme here: Christie Programme