the festival started in 1947. a key person was rudolf bing, who was then the manager of the glyndbourne opera festival. bing was later general manager of the metropolitan opera in new york city from 1950 to 1972. he was naturalized as a british subject in 1946 and knighted in 1971. his idea was to heal the wounds of war through the languages of the arts. since 2014 the director of the festival has been fergus linehan.