Richard Gaddes, Founder of the Opera Theatre of St Louis, has Died Aged 81

The English opera leader was also closely associated with the Santa Fe Opera

Richard Gaddes, who was one of the most prominent leaders in the American opera scene, has passed away at the age of 81.

Gaddes was born in Wallsend, in northeast England, where he grew up in a working-class family. His father expressed doubt at his desire to pursue a music career, but nonetheless, the young Gaddes went to study the piano at Trinity College London.

After graduating, Gaddes took a job with Artists International Management. During this time, he was the founder of the lunchtime concert series at the Wigmore Hall, which offered a platform for emerging artists. In 1969, the impresario John Crosby hired Gaddes as artistic administrator at the Santa Fe Opera. Gaddes was later to succeed Crosby in 2000.

Between those two important moments, Gaddes founded the Opera Theatre of St Louis, where he served as General Director until 1987. During his tenure, the company developed a particular reputation for giving young artists their professional debuts — and for prioritizing the programming of new, American repertoire.

Gaddes' work was recognized in 2008 when he received one of the first Opera Honors Awards from the National Endowment for the Arts.

"While Richard received many meaningful accolades during his career, I’d like to think that the founding of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 1976 was one of the accomplishments of which he was most proud," said Andrew Jorgensen, the General Director of the Opera Theatre of St Louis. "Working in partnership with a group of intrepid St. Louisans, he launched a grassroots effort to establish an opera company that was unlike any other in the country."