Andrew would go on to direct operas for all the Australian companies, including Verdi’s Aida for the Victoria State Opera and, more recently, Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana and Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci for the State Opera of South Australia. Only two months before his untimely death, Andrew revived his production of Cav and Pag for West Australian Opera.
Andrew’s long association with Covent Garden resumed in 1994, when he was appointed a resident director, a position he held until 2019. He was responsible for many revivals, spanning the operatic spectrum from Mozart and Donizetti, through Wagner and Verdi, to Britten and Tippett. In 1998, he finally directed a full Ring – a semi-staged version at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Bernard Haitink.
During this period, Andrew made his directorial debut in North America with Bellini’s Norma for the Seattle Opera. He returned often to the US, especially to San Diego Opera, where he staged several new productions, including Puccini’s Tosca and Verdi’s La Traviata. He also had a great US success, in several opera houses, with Bizet’s Les Pecheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers), designed by the British fashion icon, Zandra Rhodes. Andrew also directed Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires.
Andrew’s productions have been staged in Singapore, Hong Kong and Wellington. He also directed a semi-staged version of Act III of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg for the State Opera of South Australia.
One of Andrew’s oldest friends and colleagues is the Australian conductor Simone Young, who vividly describes his working methods: “Whether it was his own production or one he had nurtured and cherished for years as resident director, each rehearsal and each performance mattered – a major opening or an umpteenth revival, Andrew lavished care and love on every detail, and on every artist. Whether you were the youngest props assistant at a college or the most famous diva on the grandest stages, Andrew valued your work and contribution to the great art form that he lived for.“
Andrew Sinclair’s passion for opera did not just belong in the opera house. He was committed to younger generations of singers, most recently through his series of Melbourne master classes, Reading the Score. As Young says, Andrew was “passionately committed to education and development of the next generation of artists. A true believer in the passing on of the flame, his insights and experiences have enriched and informed many students who have become major artists”.
Andrew is survived by his partner of 19 years, Dr Scott Lewis, whom he married in 2009, and English cousins Sir Julian Rose, Robin Payne, Don and Tracey Payne and their daughter Zoe Rohan, and Jan Payne and Ivan Wolton.
Michael Shmith, a Melbourne author and music writer, was a friend of Andrew Sinclair for more than 50 years.
