Murray Hipkin studied at York University, the Guildhall and the National Opera Studio before joining English National Opera (1983–1988 and 1995-present) where he has conducted The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, The Gondoliers, Kismet, Carousel, Chess and Man of La Mancha. As répétiteur and assistant conductor he has worked on numerous productions over 37 seasons, most recently HMS Pinafore and the UK premiere of Du Yun’s Angel’s Bone in Manchester. In 2013 he played the solo piano in the ENO film of Death in Venice and recently played the solo piano in The Turn of the Screw, Albert Herring and appeared onstage in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and The Magic Flute. In 2022 he appeared as Music Supervisor in the Sky/ENO series Anyone Can Sing.
Elsewhere he has conducted La bohème (Surrey Opera, Opera Box); Salieri Falstaff, Haydn La vera costanza, Mozart Apollo and Hyacinth, Gluck Le cinesi (Bampton Classical Opera), and worked for Opéra de Lyon, La Monnaie, Opera Factory, Scottish Opera and Opera Brava.
Other highlights include assisting the composer John Adams both for the C4 film The Death of Klinghoffer and for Nixon in China at the Proms and in Berlin; Pierrot Lunaire with Björk atthe Verbier Festival and Sweeney Todd for Bergen National Opera. In 2009 Murray completed an eight-month sabbatical from ENO as Musical Director of The Sound of Music at the London Palladium. In 2023 and 2024 he conducted The Pirates of Penzance, The Gondoliers, The Mikado, The Sorcerer and The Yeomen of the Guard at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton and in spring 2024 he worked on the Deutsche Oper Berlin production of Nixon in China.
In June this year he stepped in as chorus director for the Groot Omroepkoor for a concert performance of Glass Akhnaten at Het Concertgebouw,Amsterdam. He has been with NLC since 2003 and from 2010 until 2023 was also MD of the Pink Singers.
Plans for the 2026/27 ENO season include Angel’s Bone, Adriana Mater (Saariaho), Breaking the Waves (Mazzoli) and Trial by Jury / The Zoo (Sullivan). In 2025 Murray joined the Board of Trustees of The Choir With No Name.
Murray Hipkin is a member of English National Opera, and appears by permission.