Richard Gaddes

Richard Gaddes (born 23 May 1942) is an English opera company administrator based in the United States.

Gaddes was born in Wallsend, England. He studied at Trinity College of Music in London. At Wigmore Hall, London’s famed recital hall, he created a series of lunchtime concerts designed to give young musicians opportunities to perform. This introduced such artists as flute virtuoso James Galway and the soprano Margaret Price.

He formed his own artists management company, then joined Artists International Management, a company which represents musicians worldwide, including Beverly Sills and conductor John Pritchard, then music director at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. On one of John Crosby's regular visits to London to hear new singers for the Santa Fe Opera, a summer opera company in Santa Fe, New Mexico which Crosby directed, Gaddes helped him with the audition process. By December 1968, Crosby suggested the possibility of a job in Santa Fe, and from the 1969 season, he became its Artistic Administrator.

Given his knowledge of the British operatic and musical scene of the day, Gaddes was instrumental in spotting the talent of Kiri Te Kanawa and bringing her to the Santa Fe Opera as the “Countess” in The Marriage of Figaro for her US debut during the 1971 summer season. (It was not until her Royal Opera House Covent Garden triumph in December of that year that she achieved international stature). During this period as Artistic Administrator, he introduced artists other than Te Kanawa; these included the conductor Edo de Waart and the mezzo Frederica von Stade (who was also a triumph in the 1971 Figaro). In addition, he was instrumental in arranging for the world premiere of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Yerma, which featured paintings by Giorgio de Chirico.

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