Astra Blair
Encyclopedia
Astra Blair is a British former opera singer, agent, and charity fundraiser.
with singing as her principal study. Her professional debut was as a mezzo-soprano
with Glyndebourne Festival Opera
; she later joined the Sadlers Wells Opera, which became the English National Opera
. In 1954 she is married the opera singer Raimund Herincx
and had three children. In 1972 she established Music and Musicians Artists' Management, an operatic and concert agency in London.
Early in her musical career Blair and her husband converted part of their Bedfordshire
home into a small concert hall and founded the Quinville Concerts Trust to raise funds for disabled children. Sir Colin Davis and Sir Charles Groves
became joint presidents of the Trust and for 13 years international musicians, singers and actors took part in its concerts, raising money to provide equipment, specialised transport, holidays and leisure activities to children with disabilities. The Trust, with support from British Steel
, helped to finance and develop the Quinville caliper for disabled children, which was used at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
.
Together with Line Renaud
, founder of the French Association des Artistes contre le SIDA, Blair organized a "Gala Franco-Brittanique" at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
in Paris to raise money for the fight against AIDS
. Much of the money raised was donated to the newly-founded National Aids Trust
. Blair founded the British charity "Association of Artists Against Aids" with her colleague, the English tenor Peter Jeffes; she attracted as patrons June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair
, Kate Adie
, Shirley Bassey
, Jane Glover, Jonathan Miller
, Michael Parkinson
, Jeffrey Tate and Fay Weldon
. Following the Paris gala, Blair was asked, as representative of the Association of Artists Against Aids to organise a Royal Gala at the Drury Lane Theatre
benefit for the National Aids Trust. Blair devoted the gala to the music of Stephen Sondheim, who attended as guest of honour. The show, named "Being Alive", featured international artists, film stars, musicians, TV personalities, opera singers and conductors and raised substantial funds for the Milestone Aids Hospice in Edinburgh. Blair subsequently organised five other major fundraisers and the recording of An Anthology of English Song by major artists from the Royal Opera House to support the Milestone Aids Hospice. Blair also raised funds for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and for Queen Charlotte's Children's Hospital, serving for three years (one as vice-president) on the organising committee for the Queen Charlotte's Birthday Ball.
Life and career
Blair was born Margaret J. Waugh in India and educated in England and West Africa. After finishing school Blair took up a scholarship at The Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
with singing as her principal study. Her professional debut was as a mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
with Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
; she later joined the Sadlers Wells Opera, which became the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
. In 1954 she is married the opera singer Raimund Herincx
Raimund Herincx
Raimund Frederick Herincx is a British operatic bass baritone. Throughout a varied international career, Herincx performed in most of the world's great opera houses and with many of the world's leading symphony orchestras, having been in demand in international opera and in the choral and...
and had three children. In 1972 she established Music and Musicians Artists' Management, an operatic and concert agency in London.
Early in her musical career Blair and her husband converted part of their Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
home into a small concert hall and founded the Quinville Concerts Trust to raise funds for disabled children. Sir Colin Davis and Sir Charles Groves
Charles Groves
Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors....
became joint presidents of the Trust and for 13 years international musicians, singers and actors took part in its concerts, raising money to provide equipment, specialised transport, holidays and leisure activities to children with disabilities. The Trust, with support from British Steel
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
, helped to finance and develop the Quinville caliper for disabled children, which was used at Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital
Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service hospital within Aylesbury Urban Area to the south of the town of Aylesbury, near the village of Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire...
.
Together with Line Renaud
Line Renaud
- Early life :Line Renaud was born in Pont-de-Nieppe on 2 July 1928. Her mother Simone was a shorthand typist; her father was a truck driver during the week, but he played trumpet at the weekends, in a local brass band...
, founder of the French Association des Artistes contre le SIDA, Blair organized a "Gala Franco-Brittanique" at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
in Paris to raise money for the fight against AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Much of the money raised was donated to the newly-founded National Aids Trust
National AIDS trust
NAT is a UK charity that campaigns on a range of issues related to HIV, primarily in a domestic context. The charity's key strategic goals are:* Effective prevention of HIV transmission...
. Blair founded the British charity "Association of Artists Against Aids" with her colleague, the English tenor Peter Jeffes; she attracted as patrons June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair
June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair
June Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, CBE, DL, FRCM, FRSAMD, FRSE known as Lady Aberdeen, was a professional musician and patron of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival and founder and Musical Director of Haddo House Choral & Operatic Society.Trained as a pianist and conductor,...
, Kate Adie
Kate Adie
Kathryn "Kate" Adie , OBE , is a British journalist. Her most high-profile role was that of chief news correspondent for BBC News, during which time she became well known for reporting from war zones around the world...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Jane Glover, Jonathan Miller
Jonathan Miller
Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE is a British theatre and opera director, author, physician, television presenter, humorist and sculptor. Trained as a physician in the late 1950s, he first came to prominence in the 1960s with his role in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe with fellow writers and...
, Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
, Jeffrey Tate and Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE is an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrays contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.-Biography:Weldon was...
. Following the Paris gala, Blair was asked, as representative of the Association of Artists Against Aids to organise a Royal Gala at the Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
benefit for the National Aids Trust. Blair devoted the gala to the music of Stephen Sondheim, who attended as guest of honour. The show, named "Being Alive", featured international artists, film stars, musicians, TV personalities, opera singers and conductors and raised substantial funds for the Milestone Aids Hospice in Edinburgh. Blair subsequently organised five other major fundraisers and the recording of An Anthology of English Song by major artists from the Royal Opera House to support the Milestone Aids Hospice. Blair also raised funds for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital and for Queen Charlotte's Children's Hospital, serving for three years (one as vice-president) on the organising committee for the Queen Charlotte's Birthday Ball.