More praise dead than alive, Gerard Mortier wins the Diaghilev Prize

The award, founded in 2012, honours the executive producer – not the director – of the past year’s best opera production.

This years shortlist consisted of:

John Berry for Wozzeck at English National Opera;

Jurgen Flimm for The Tsar’s Bride, Staatsoper Berlin;

Eva Wagner-Pasquier, Katharina Wagner for Walküre, Bayreuth Festival; and

Gerard Mortier for Purcell’s Indian Queen at the Teatro Royal, Madrid.

‘The International Jury decided to abandon a vote for the shortlisted projects. Instead, the prize was awarded to Gerard Mortier for his enormous contribution to the arts and for his outstanding role in the development of musical theatre. The prize money will fund the Russian publication of his book, Dramaturgie einer Leidenschaft,’ a manifesto-cum-memoir.

Mortier died in March, aged 70.