The festival described Blake as a much-valued colleague, bringing to life an incredible variety of characters, including an unforgettable Othello, a heartbreaking Macduff in Macbeth, and a good-hearted Master Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Lewis said one of the reasons he wrote the book is because Manuel is "woefully underrepresented" in his field, while being an integral part of moving "a whole musical movement forward."