Richard Divall
Richard Sydney Divall (9 September 1945 – 15 January 2017) was an Australian conductor and musicologist.
Born in Sydney, and after leaving Manly Boys High School, Divall joined the Australian Broadcasting Commission as a music producer in the early 1960s for nine years before working as a trainee conductor for Opera Queensland. In 1972, on the invitation of Dame Joan Hammond and Peter Burch, he became the inaugural music director of the Victoria State Opera in Melbourne, where he remained for 25 years. A further five years were spent as principal resident conductor of Opera Australia. His teachers included Joseph Post, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Reginald Goodall and Wolfgang Wagner.
He was the chief adjudicator for the Herald Sun Aria, an annual Australia-wide competition for young opera singers held at Hamer Hall, Melbourne.
Divall was a regular guest conductor of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Similar Artists