14 Facts About Reginald Goodall

Sir Reginald Goodall was an English conductor and singing coach noted for his performances of the operas of Richard Wagner and for conducting the premieres of several operas by Benjamin Britten.

In 1944, Reginald Goodall joined the Sadler's Wells company, forerunner of the English National Opera.

Reginald Goodall conducted this again later at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, where he had first conducted in 1947.

Reginald Goodall was an assistant conductor to the music director of the Royal Opera House, Karl Rankl, in the late 1940s.

Reginald Goodall spent much of his career conducting orchestras at the Royal Opera House and Sadler's Wells Opera.

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For Reginald Goodall, conducting success finally came with an appointment at Sadler's Wells, where from 1967 he worked in close collaboration with the head of the music staff, Leonard Hancock.

Reginald Goodall conducted The Mastersingers in 1968, and the full Ring Cycle from 1970 to 1973, both productions sung in English.

Passionate about all things German, in the 1930s Reginald Goodall openly sympathised with the Nazi regime, which he perceived as a defender of Germanic cultural traditions.

Reginald Goodall actively supported Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, and he eventually joined the party just five days after Britain's declaration of war on Germany.

Reginald Goodall maintained his outspoken pro-Nazi views during World War II, the uninhibited expression of which once led him to be briefly questioned by the police.

Reginald Goodall was known to refer to the Holocaust as a "BBC Jewish plot".

Self-effacing man, Reginald Goodall achieved his own prominence in later life once he was able to come out from under the shadow of some of the great German and Austrian conductors of his era, for whom he understudied, conducted rehearsals and provided vocal coaching.

Reginald Goodall was appreciated for his attention to detail and Wagner's annotations, as well as for his extensive rehearsals.

Reginald Goodall became much loved by many of the musicians with whom he worked over long periods, building up a mutual understanding and rapport with British singers especially, such as Rita Hunter and Alberto Remedios, whose careers he fostered.