John Copley CBE |
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Born |
John Michael Harold Copley 12 June 1933 Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Theatre and opera producer |
Spouse(s) | John Hugh Chadwyck-Healey (civil partner 2006 - 2014) |
John Michael Harold Copley (born 12 June 1933),CBE is a British theatre and opera producer.
He was born in Birmingham to Ernest and Lilian (née Forbes) Copley, and attended King Edward VI Five Ways grammar school. After a brief career as an actor, he became stage manager at Sadler's Wells in 1953 and resident producer for the Covent Garden Opera Company in 1972. He has produced most of the standard operatic repertoire for many opera houses and festivals in Europe, USA and Canada. He is also an accomplished pianist and singer. He has had a long association with Opera Australia, including the Australian premiere of Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa in 1984.
The filmed operas he has been associated with are:
For over 50 years Copley was the partner of John Hugh Chadwyck-Healey (1922-2014), grandson of Charles Chadwyck-Healey, 1st Baronet. In 2006, they contracted a civil partnership, which Copley described when he was a guest on the BBC Radio 4 Desert Island Discs programme on 3 January 2010.
Copley was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to opera.