Founded in 1966 by Raymond Gubbay, Raymond Gubbay Ltd is recognised as being at the forefront of promoting and producing popular shows, illuminated trails, classical concerts, opera, ballet and special events both in the United Kingdom and abroad.
In 1989, the company first staged Classical Spectacular®, a show combining favourite classical music with a stunning visual display of lighting, lasers and pyrotechnics. The show has now played to an audience in excess of two million people globally, most notably 12 sold out performances each year at the Royal Albert Hall. Combining great music with the latest technology and special effects has led the company on to other related productions including Space Spectacular®, John Williams Spectacular, Zimmer vs Williams, Sci-Fi Spectacular, Superheroes at the Symphony and many more, working with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras including the UK’s Royal Philharmonic, Philharmonia, CBSO, RSNO and the Hallé. Raymond Gubbay Ltd also runs five orchestras of its own around the UK, particularly the London Concert Orchestra who regularly perform the company’s own shows as well as being hired for tours and special events.
In recent years, the company has forged successful and ongoing partnerships with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Blenheim Palace, The National Trust, The Forestry Commission, ZSL London Zoo and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, co-creating festive illuminated trails that each year light up the UK, with visitor numbers this year set to exceed 1,000,000. In addition, the company annually co-promotes Kew the Music, a diverse series of summer picnic concerts with artists that have included Paloma Faith, Mary J Blige, The Gipsy Kings, Simply Red and Jools Holland. In 2013, Raymond Gubbay Ltd was chosen to produce a series of concerts celebrating the anniversary of Her Majesty The Queen’s Coronation in the gardens of Buckingham Palace.
Popular Christmas concerts conceived by the company, particularly Christmas Carol Singalong, Carols by Candlelight® and Christmas Spectacular, have become a festive tradition. 2018 saw performances at Central Hall Westminster, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall and the Barbican in London, as well major concert halls across the country including Symphony Hall in Birmingham, The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. The company stages over 100 concert performances in the month of December alone with ‘Christmas Festivals’ running through from mid-December through to the New Year.
The company is proud to have brought a host of prestigious artists to British audiences; notably, from the operatic world, Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, Joseph Calleja, Rolando Villazon and Angela Gheorghiu. Crossover artists have included sold out shows with 2 Cellos, The Piano Guys, David Garrett, Katherine Jenkins and Russell Watson and, from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, Raymond Gubbay Ltd is proud to be presenting its 11th year of Anton & Erin’s UK tour. The company has also presented international ballet in London including visits by New York City Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Carlos Acosta, Sylvie Guillem, Bejart Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Raymond Gubbay Ltd has also presented the Russian State Ballet of Siberia for over 15 years, with annual UK tours of up to four months visiting every part of the UK.
Raymond Gubbay Ltd is also well known for its co-productions at London’s Royal Albert Hall. A successful partnership over two decades brought arena scale opera to the masses. Productions included La bohème, Tosca, Carmen, Aida and a widely-acclaimed staging of Madam Butterfly. Staged in-the-round, these performances brought new audiences to opera with each season playing to in excess of 50,000 people. By partnering with English National Ballet in conjunction with the Royal Albert Hall, Raymond Gubbay Ltd also staged spectacular in-the-round productions of the world’s favourite ballets including Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.
The company now regularly presents well over 500 performances each year, selling over a million and a half tickets.
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