Carl Ebert

Carl Ebert (born February 20, 1887, Berlin, Germany—died May 14, 1980, Santa Monica, California, U.S.) was a German-born opera director who, as artistic director and producer of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera from 1935 to 1959, established new standards of production in British opera.

Ebert started his career as an actor in 1909 and went on to direct the Darmstadt State Theatre before turning to opera and becoming (1931) general manager of the Berlin City Opera. Under the Nazi regime Ebert left Germany and in 1935 made his debut as a director at Glyndebourne with a brilliant production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. From then until his retirement in 1959, Ebert was responsible for some of the festival’s most-original works, integrating music and stagecraft in productions that showed an unerring sense of pace and timing. His contribution to British music did not end there; he was associated with the Sussex Mozart festivals and with the Edinburgh Festival, and from 1965 to 1977 he was director of productions at the Scottish Opera Company. During World War II, Ebert worked in Turkey, founding the opera and drama departments at Ankara Conservatory, and in the United States. After the war he served (1946–54) as professor and head of the opera program at the University of Southern California and director (1950–54) of the Guild Opera Company, both in Los Angeles. He played a significant role in reestablishing opera in West Germany during the postwar years and returned to the Berlin City Opera as director (1954–61).