Studied RCM, Christ Church Oxford and LOC. 1970-1974 music staff in Wuppertal and Hamburg and musical assistant at Bayreuth. Joined WNO 1976.

A Wagner enthusiast from youth, assisted Reginald Goodall on Die Walküre, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal. During this period for WNO he conducted Fidelio, The Greek Passion, Parsifal, Das Rheingold, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung; since assisting Sir Charles Mackerras from 1987, conducted all Mozart’s operas from Idomeneo to La clemenza di Tito; Tristan, Elektra, Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten also feature in his repertoire. In 1992 he assisted Boulez on Pelléas et Mélisande, while more recent performances include Leonore, Parsifal (also New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, 2006), Katya Kabanova, Khovanshchina, Il trovatore, The Sacrifice (broadcast), The Magic Flute. For RWCMD Albert Herring, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Suor Angelica.

For Longborough Festival (2000-2004) he conducted the shortened CBTO Ring Cycle with Sir Donald McIntyre as Wotan (also with Pittsburgh Opera Theater, director Jonathan Eaton) before launching a projected Longborough Ring Cycle with full Das Rheingold (2007-2008), director Alan Privett. Recent engagements include a concert of Fidelio excerpts, Die Walküre Act I (Longborough Festival); assisting Vladimir Jurowski on Tristan at Glyndebourne.