Martin Graham, founder of Longborough Festival Opera, has died aged 83.
We are deeply saddened to announce that Martin Graham died yesterday, on Easter Monday 21st April 2025. Husband to Lizzie, father to Leo, Cordelia, and Polly, Martin was an inspiration to all of us at Longborough Festival Opera and he will be hugely missed. As founder of the company his influence has been incalculable. His theatre has brought joy to thousands.
A grammar-school boy and builder with no formal musical training, Martin transformed a Gloucestershire barn, a love of music, and a passion for Wagner into a world-class opera festival. He chaired the board of trustees for over twenty years, stepping down after his 80th birthday.
Martin and Lizzie established the festival in 1991. What began as summer concerts grew into full-scale operatic work, culminating in the extraordinary staging of Wagner’s Ring Cycle—a project rarely attempted outside major opera houses. Against the odds, the festival gained a loyal following and critical acclaim, often described as the English Bayreuth.
Longborough’s Music Director Anthony Negus said, “I was so lucky to become involved with Longborough in 2000. Martin was an enabler and inspirer who made one feel that anything that one wished to achieve would be possible. With the participation of all the Company, we were able to complete the small Ring cycles and go on to perform the full Ring not once but twice. It was Martin's will, energy and encouragement behind it that inspired us all to fulfil our talents and make it happen. His legacy continues the journey today and tomorrow, and the thought and memory of him will continue to bring inspiration to us all. Thank you Martin.”
Longborough’s Chair of Trustees Andrew Mosely said, “Martin’s life was marked by many achievements, but it is his boldness in establishing Longborough Festival Opera with the support of Lizzie and later his three children Polly, Cordelia and Leo that is perhaps the most fitting tribute to his extraordinary and well-lived life”.
Martin Graham is survived by Lizzie, their three children, three grandchildren, his sister Stella, and the thriving festival he leaves behind.
