Besch established an international reputation, and directed operas in continental Europe, North and South America and Australia.
In June of that year he directed Love's Labours Lost for the Oxford University Dramatic Society, with a cast including the future drama critic Kenneth Tynan.
[8] He joined Sadler's Wells Opera as a staff producer, tasked with keeping existing productions fresh for revivals in London and on tour.
[5] His productions for Sadler's Wells (later ENO) included Count Ory, Tannhäuser, The Thieving Magpie, The Queen of Spades, Ariadne on Naxos, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute.
[9] Of the last of these, one critic wrote in 1975, "Anthony Besch has respected the spirit of Mozart and remained true to convention, tradition and, most important of all, to the score … The magic worked.
"[5] Besch worked with D'Oyly Carte (The Mikado and The Gondoliers); Opera North (The Tales of Hoffmann and Jonny Strikes Up); the Aldeburgh Festival (Punch and Judy); the Wexford Festival (Rossini's Otello, La jolie fille de Perth, Oberon and La rondine), and Garsington Opera (Haydn's L'infedeltà delusa).
In South Africa he directed Otello (Verdi's on this occasion) and in Australia, Così fan tutte, Die Fledermaus and The Rake's Progress.
[9] The Guardian described him as "one of the most intelligent and musical opera directors of his generation",[1] and added: Though he maintained public silence about the conceptual extravagances of younger colleagues, his career demonstrated his belief in traditional methods.