Born in 1930 in Sydney, Australia, Richard Bonynge studied at the NSW Conservatorium of Music 
and the Royal College of Music, London. He became  Musical Director of the Sutherland-Williamson 
Grand Opera Company in 1965 (Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane). He was  Artistic Director 
of the Vancouver Opera from 1974 to 1977 and Musical Director of The Australian Opera from 1976
to 1986.                                         
He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Her Majesty The Queen in 
Great Britain in 1977 and also the AO (Order of Australia) and in 1989 he was awarded Commandeur 
des Arts et des Lettres in Paris. 
Richard Bonynge is widely acknowledged as a scholar of bel canto opera, 19th century French opera 
and 19th century ballet music.
He has conducted at a great many of the world's opera houses in Great Britain, the United States, 
Canada, Argentina, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Portugal, Poland, Russia, 
Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
His repertoire consists mainly of 18th century opera, the great bel canto repertoire, French 19th century 
opera, 19th century ballet and opera, the operas of Mozart and Handel, and many operettas.
He has revived many operas which were not at the time included in the repertoire: Les Huguenots 
(Meyerbeer), Semiramide, Sigismondo (Rossini), La Fille du Régiment, Maria Stuarda, Anna Bolena, 
Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti), Esclarmonde, Le Roi de Lahore, Thérèse (Massenet), Medea (Pacini), 
Orfeo (Haydn), I Masnadieri (Verdi).
Bonynge has recorded over 50 complete operas as well as the three great Tchaikovsky ballets, three 
Delibes ballets and countless relatively unknown ballets by Adam, Minkus, Burgmuller, Auber, Drigo, 
Offenbach. He has recently recorded several recital discs with Sumi Jo, Jerry Hadley, Deborah Riedel, 
Rosamund Illing and Cheryl Barker.  His latest recordings are Le Domino Noir (Auber), Le Toréador 
(Adam), Der Czarevich, Das Land des Lächelns, Paganini, Giuditta (Lehar), Cendrillon (Nicolo), 
Orfeo (Haydn), Die Herzogin von Chicago and Die Czardasfurstin (Kálmán), British Opera Arias 
(Balfe, Wallace, Sullivan), Sacred and Profane Arias (Massenet), Puccini Arias (Puccini).
He has also made videos of Les Huguenots, La Fille du Régiment, Adriana Lecouvreur, 
Die Lustige Witwe, Les Dialogues des Carmélites, Norma, Die Fledermaus, Lucrezia Borgia, 
Lucia di Lammermoor, Lakmé, Il Trovatore, Die Zauberflöte, Die Czardasfürstin.



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