Reginald Goodall
Sir Reginald Goodall CBE (13 July 1901 – 5 May 1990) 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.
Early life[edit]
Goodall was born in Lincoln, and studied at the Royal College of Music and elsewhere in Europe. In 1929, he became the organist and choirmaster at St Alban's Church, Holborn.
Fascism and Holocaust denials[edit]
Passionate about all things German, in the 1930s Goodall openly sympathised with the Nazi regime, which he perceived as a defender of Germanic cultural traditions.[7] Goodall also 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. He 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.[8] Goodall was known to refer to the Holocaust as a "BBC Jewish plot".[7]
Reputation and legacy[edit]
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.[9] Goodall was appreciated for his attention to detail and Wagner's annotations, as well as for his extensive rehearsals.[10]
John Lucas published an authorised biography of Goodall in 1993.[11]