Richard Balcombe is firmly established as one of the most versatile musicians of his generation. In opera he has conducted The Gondoliers (English National Opera), Barber of Seville (Ulster Orchestra), Magic Flute (English Chamber Orchestra), Rigoletto (English Touring Opera), Madama Butterfly and Magic Flute (Central Festival Opera), Falstaff, Tosca, Cosi fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro (London Opera Players), Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, The Gondoliers and Pirates of Penzance (Carl Rosa), La Boheme (London City Opera) and HMS Pinafore & The Mikado (D’Oyly Carte Opera Company in the UK and America). He has also conducted for Bryn Terfel, Jose Carreras and Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorgiu on BBC TV.

He has been privileged to work with some of the world’s leading orchestras including Gothenburg Symphony, Orchestre National de Lille, Odense Symphony, Stavanger Symphony, Estonian National Symphony, Stockholm Sinfonietta, Sonderjyllands Symphony, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Orquesta Sinfonica Gran Mariscal (Venezuela); and in the UK the London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, English Chamber, Halle, Ulster, National Symphony, BBC Concert, London Pro Arte, East of England, Northern Chamber, London Concert and London Musicians Orchestras, and the Orchestra of Scottish Opera.

In the West End he has been Music Director for Phantom of the Opera, City of Angels, Aspects of Love, Carmen Jones, Cats, and Once on this Island; he was Music Director for the productions of Divorce me Darling, the UK premiere of Out of this World and The Gondoliers and How to succeed in business (Chichester Festival) and for Babes in Arms (Cardiff International Festival), Follies in Concert (London Palladium), Wonderful Town and South Pacific (Grange Park Opera) and Musical Supervisor for Promises and Lies (Birmingham Rep; world premiere), and the 2004/2005 national tour of Kiss me Kate.

Richard is also a prolific orchestrator and arranger and has provided orchestrations for the LSO, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, RSNO and the BBC and London Concert Orchestras; for artists including Lesley Garrett, Willard White, Michael Ball, Sir Cliff Richard, Will Young and Ronan Keating and for projects including Christmas at the Musicals (Barbican), Fred Astaire: His Daughter’s Tribute (London Palladium), Children will listen (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane), Music of the night (UK and Sweden), A Kind of Magic (Estonia and Finland), Hollywood Symphonic (France); Can you feel the love tonight, The Magnificent Musicals (with Ruthie Henshall) and Something Wonderful (UK tours); Out of this world, How to succeed in business, Babes in Arms and The Gondoliers (Chichester Festival), Promises and Lies (Birmingham Rep; world premiere) and The Merry Widow (Carl Rosa). He has created reduced orchestral versions of 25 complete operas which are now used worldwide.

His recording credits (as conductor and/or orchestrator) include The Martyr of Antioch (Sullivan), Love Unspoken, The Musicality of Irving Berlin, Showstoppers from Broadway, original cast albums of City of Angels, Once on this Island and Divorce me Darling, This time it’s personal (Michael Ball), You are (John Cashmore), The London Cello Sound, Fred Astaire: His Daughter’s Tribute, Short Stories (Mario Frangoulis); Brideshead Revisited and Merciless Beauty (as co-producer) and the DVD Sometimes I dream (Mario Frangoulis).

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