Allan Clayton awarded an MBE

Allan Clayton has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for 2021, 'for services to opera'.

He told the The Argus, his local newspaper in Sussex: 'It's a bit weird. Essentially, I am just doing my job. I am very lucky in two ways: my job is fun, and I get to communicate with people. I just go out there and try to spread music, and it's nice that some people think that it is worth doing. I may not announce myself as Allan Clayton MBE, but this award is about making live music and getting back to what I love. There are far more deserving people from the last year, such as people in the NHS.'

Clayton spent the weekend in Snape, as Artist-in-Residence for Britten Pears Arts, with performances including the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Silenced, reviewed by Richard Morrison in The Times with five stars: 'Clayton and Baillieu performed it with stunning understanding and a theatrical verve.'