What is Colin Davis?
[[File:colindavis.jpg|210px|thumb|Sir Colin Davis]] [[Knight Bachelor|Sir]] ''' Colin Rex Davis''', [[Order of the Companions of Honour|CH]], [[Order of the British Empire|CBE]], ([[Weybridge]], [[Surrey]], 25 September 1927 &ndash; [[London]], [[England]], 14 April 2013), was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Conducting|conductor]]. He was born in [[Weybridge]], [[Surrey]], [[UK]]. Davis went to school at [[Christ's Hospital]] before studying the [[clarinet]] at the [[Royal College of Music]] in [[London]]. He was not allowed to take [[conducting]] lessons there because he did not play the [[piano]] well enough. He still managed to get some experience as conductor of the Kalmar Orchestra with other music students. In 1952 Davis worked at the [[Royal Festival Hall]], and in the late 1950s conducted the [[BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra]]. He started to become well known when he was suddenly asked to conduct [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]'s opera ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' at the Royal Festival Hall because [[Otto Klemperer]] was ill. A year later, in 1960, he conducted Mozart's ''[[Die Zauberflöte|The Magic Flute]]'' at [[Glyndebourne Festival Opera|Glyndebourne]] because [[Thomas Beecham]] was ill. In the 1960s he worked at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre|Sadler's Wells Opera]] and with the [[London Symphony Orchestra]]. He was Chief Conductor of the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]]. In 1971 he took over from [[Georg Solti]] as principal conductor at the Royal Opera House. He stayed there until 1986. He particularly liked conducting the operas of [[Michael Tippett]], giving the first performances of ''[[The Knot Garden]]'' (1970), and ''[[The Ice Break]]'' (1977). In 1977 he became the first English conductor to appear at the [[Bayreuth Festival]] where he conducted ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]''. Davis was Principal Guest Conductor of the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]] from 1972 to 1984. He was Chief Conductor at the [[Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra]] from 1983 to 1993. In 1991, Davis was given the honorary title 'Conductor