John Allison is Editor of Opera. From 1994-2005 he was a Music Critic on The Times, and from 2005-14 on The Sunday Telegraph. He has written for leading newspapers around the world, including the New York Times, is a regular contributor to BBC Music Magazine and has published in many academic journals. He is the author of two books has contributed articles to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and New Penguin Opera Guide, as well as a chapters to several other books. He edited the Glyndebourne Festival programmes from 2000 to 2012 and now acts in a similar capacity for Wexford Festival Opera. A jury member at several international music competitions, he also co-founded the International Opera Awards in 2013. Born in 1965 in Cape Town, South Africa, he studied there in performance, musicology and composition for his BMus and PhD degrees, and while at university was assistant organist at Cape Town Cathedral.