David Parry

Conductor David Parry has had two specialties over his long career: bel canto opera, especially lesser-known works, and operas that have been translated into English. He has also performed and recorded instrumental concert works. Among those were the violin concertos of George Lloyd, which Parry recorded in 1998 with violinist Cristina Anghelescu and the Philharmonia Orchestra; that recording was reissued in 2024 by the Lyrita label. Parry's recording catalog comprises well over 150 items. Parry was born on March 23, 1949, in London. He attended Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music but had no ambition to become a conductor until vocal instructor and choral conductor Audrey Langford spotted his talent and suggested that he conduct a production of Verdi's La Traviata with which she was associated. That performance was heard by bass-baritone Geraint Evans, who also urged Parry to pursue conducting studies. Parry traveled to Spain to study with conductor Sergiu Celibidache, conducting a variety of works, including the Spanish premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes. He made his debut in Britain, conducting Rossini's La Cenerentola at the English National Theatre and conducted various performances with Opera North and the Glyndebourne Opera in Britain and Dortmund Opera in West Germany. From 1983 to 1987, he was the music director of the English Touring Opera, and in the latter year, he made his recording debut, leading the Philharmonia Orchestra in a production of Donizetti's rarely heard opera, Emilia di Liverpool. That was just the first of a long series of recordings executed under Parry's baton over the next three and a half decades; often, several Parry recordings would be released in a single year. He has served as a guest conductor with a wide variety of orchestras in Britain and abroad, including the English National Opera, the Greek National Opera, the Staatstheater Stuttgart, and the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. Parry has recorded for various labels, but predominant among his releases have been those on the Chandos and Opera Rara labels. Parry's Chandos releases have been devoted to opera translated into English and includes Donizetti's Lucia of Lammermoor (2002). The Opera Rara recordings include not only little-known works by major composers but also operas by such rarely performed composers as Giovanni Pacini, Simon Mayr, and Saverio Mercadante. Parry's rare recordings of instrumental music include one of Bach's keyboard concertos on the Nimbus label in 2011, featuring pianist Nick van Bloss and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Parry also led a performance of George Lloyd's violin concertos, recorded in 1998 shortly after Lloyd's death (and originally intended to be conducted by Lloyd). That recording, featuring violinist Cristina Anghelescu, was reissued on the Lyrita label in 2024. ~ James Manheim, Rovi