Christian Curnyn  Christian Curnyn is a British conductor, harpsichordist and baroque music specialist. Curnyn was born in Glasgow. After reading Music at the University of York, he took postgraduate studies on the harpsichord at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. In 1994, after graduating from the university, he founded the award-winning Early Opera Company. Much in demand on the operatic scene, in the UK Curnyn has conducted for Bampton Classical Opera (Gluck's "Le Cinesi"), Scottish Opera (Handel's "Semele"), Opera North (Handel's "Saul"), Grange Park Opera ("Semele," Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", and Cavalli's "Eliogabalo") and Garsington Opera ("Die Zauberflöte"). He is a regular at English National Opera where successes have included Olivier Award-winning productions of Handel's "Partenope," and Rameau’s "Castor et Pollux" (dir. Barrie Kosky), "After Dido" (Katie Mitchell’s realisation of Purcell’s "Dido and Aeneas"), Handel's "Giulio Cesare", Charpentier's "Medée," and Handel's "Rodelinda". For The Royal Opera, Covent Garden he has conducted Britten’s "The Beggar's Opera", Cavalli's "Ormindo" to inaugurate their series at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe, where he returned for Luigi Rossi’s "Orfeo" (nominated for an Olivier Award), and Claudio Monteverdi’s "Il ritorno d’Ulisse" at the Roundhouse, as well as "Solomon" in concert on the main stage with his Early Opera Company. Further afield he has worked with Opera Australia ("Partenope"), Landestheater Salzburg (Vivaldi’s "Farnace" and Handel's "Ariodante"), Frankfurt Opera (Cavalli's "La Calisto" and Gluck’s "Ezio"), Komische Oper Berlin (Rameau's "Castor et Pollux" and "Zoroastre"), Opéra national du Rhin ("Die Zauberflöte"), Teatro Nacional de São Carlos ("Idomeneo"), Konzert Theater Bern ("Don Giovanni") and Stuttgart Opera (Rameau's "Platée", Purcell's "The Fairy Queen" and Handel's "Alcina").