WASFI KANI

Recognised today as a force to be reckoned with in the world of opera, Kani was born in London’s East End in 1956 after her parents left India at the time of partition. At the age of 14, Kani won a place in the National Youth Orchestra where she was the only non-white member. At 18, she auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and was accepted but turned this down for an offer from Oxford University where she read music.

By 1993 she had made conducting her full-time career. In 1989, Kani founded the small-scale touring company Pimlico Opera. Critical acclaim came in 1992 with the British premiere of Shostakovich’s Cheryomushki – set on a housing estate in Moscow. In 1992, while continuing to run Pimlico, Kani was made chief executive of Garsington Opera. During her five years’ tenure, she doubled their turnover.

Bur her crowning achievement to date was the creation in 1998 of a new opera house at Grange Park and the founding of a new company Grange Park Opera. In the ten years since its inception, she has created an opera festival of the highest artistic standards that rivals Glyndebourne and each summer turns over more than £2m. In recognition of her contribution, she received an OBE for services to music in the New Year’s Honour’s List 2002.

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