Opera Scotland

Martin Handley Suggest updates

Born Oxford.

English conductor and presenter.

Martin Handley studied at Cambridge before spending six years as répétiteur in minor German houses. From 1981-84 he was chorus master and conductor with Australian Opera, conducting performances of The Barber of Seville, Gianni Schicchi, Roméo et Juliette, Falstaff and Lucia di Lammermoor. Handley then spent six years as chorus master at ENO, conducting performances of several operas, including Rigoletto, Eugene Onegin, The Mikado, Carmen and Billy Budd.

From 1990, as a freelance, he worked with D'Oyly Carte, Travelling Opera, Central Festival Opera, Castleward Opera, and was principal conductor for Crystal Clear Opera, as well as working in Germany, France and the USA.

Handley also did concert work with the BBC Concert Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.

In 1997 he joined the Danish Royal Opera in Copenhagen as head of music and house conductor. From 2004 he worked with Carl Rosa, conducting HMS Pinafore on a tour to Australia and New Zealand, followed by a production of The Merry Widow.

Handley has also worked at Grange Park and with Pimlico Opera.

Martin Handley can be heard regularly as a presenter both of live concerts and studio programmes on BBC Radio 3.