Edward Downes Edward Downes Sir Edward Thomas ("Ted") Downes, CBE (17 June 1924 – 10 July 2009) was an English conductor, specialising in opera. He was associated with the Royal Opera House from 1952, and with Opera Australia from 1970. He was also well known for his long working relationship with the BBC Philharmonic and for working with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra. Within the field of opera, he was particularly known as a conductor of Verdi. He and his wife, Lady (Joan) Downes, committed assisted suicide at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland on 10 July 2009, an event that received significant media
Edward Downes (American musicologist) Edward Downes (American musicologist) Edward Olin Davenport Downes (August 12, 1911 – December 26, 2001) was an American musicologist, professor and music critic. He is perhaps best known as the host and quizmaster of the "Metropolitan Opera Quiz" on the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts from 1958 to 1996. Downes was born in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, the son of Olin Downes. He was educated at Columbia University and the Manhattan School of Music and received a Ph.D. in musicology from Harvard University in 1958. Downes served in the Army during World War II. During the war he worked for a time