Amy Holyland and Patrick Keefe win John Christie award
Florence Lockheart
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
The mezzo soprano and baritone will receive a £15,000 scholarship to support further study and career development.
Winners of this year's John Christie Award were announced on the Glyndebourne stage during festival chairman Gus Christie’s traditional last night speech. The award was shared between mezzo soprano Amy Holyland and baritone Patrick Keefe.
Christie’s speech marks the end of Glyndebourne’s first full-scale festival following two summers of adjusted performances during the pandemic. This year over 86,500 people visited the festival and the season saw no performance cancellations single performance was cancelled. This is due to Glyndebourne’s cover artist programme, which both Holyland and Keefe participated in.
Stephen Langridge, Glyndebourne’s artistic director, said: ‘Rather than play it safe following the pandemic, we presented four new productions, all very different and each unforgettable. The two revival productions delivered equally high standards, thanks to outstanding casts and a meticulous rehearsal process. The result was a vintage Glyndebourne Festival season that neither the company nor our members and visitors will forget in a hurry.’
The John Christie Award is the most prestigious award given by Glyndebourne and by the Musicians’ Company which has supported the award since it was created in 1965. The award includes a £15,000 scholarship and is designed to support the career of an outstanding young talent in the Glyndebourne Festival company with support for further study. You can find a full list of previous winners here.
Having covered Bradamante in Handel's Alcina and sung the role of Une grosse dame in Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Holyland will be covering Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro in the Glyndebourne’s upcoming autumn tour. Holyland is also currently on the Guildhall School of Music’s Opera course.
Patrick Keefe is a Jerwood Young Artist and student of the Royal Academy Apera. He made his Glyndebourne debut this season singing The Notary and covering Malatesta in Don Pasquale. Keefe will also participate in the Glyndebouren tour, covering the role of the Count in Le nozze di Figaro.
In addition to their named award, Holyland and Keefe also have the opportunity for a five-year tenure as Musicians’ Company Young Artists. Young Artists typically give over 75 performances across the country as well as joining the Company’s Young Artists Outreach Programme, taking music into inner London primary schools
You can find out more about the John Christie award here.
