San Francisco Opera to Present SWEENEY TODD for the First Time This Fall
By: BWW News Desk Aug. 12, 2015
Stephen Sondheim's macabre musical thriller Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street receives its highly anticipated San Francisco Opera premiere in a production featuring a cast of notable operatic stars and performed with Sondheim's original score for the lyric stage.
Beginning Saturday, September 12 at the War Memorial Opera House, American baritone Brian Mulligan and American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe take on the respective roles of the tortured barber Sweeney Todd and resourceful meat-pie shop proprietor Mrs. Lovett. With San Francisco Opera Principal Guest Conductor Patrick Summers leading the San Francisco Opera Orchestra and Chorus (James Lowe conducts the final performance on September 29), this co-production with Paris' Théâtre du Châtelet and Houston Grand Opera is directed by Lee Blakeley and designed by Tanya McCallin.
"Sondheim's Grand Guignol masterpiece takes its rightful place on the operatic stage," said San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley. During his tenure at Houston Grand Opera in the mid-1980s, Gockley mounted a groundbreaking production of Sweeney Todd -- the first major opera company to stage the 1979 musical, originally directed for Broadway by Harold Prince and starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou. "Sweeney Todd is a piece of genius that deserves the kind of operatic treatment we can give it."
Boasting unforgettable tunes spanning from the darkly humorous "A Little Priest" and "Worst Pies in London" to the hopeful and romantic "Johanna" and "By the Sea," Sweeney Todd features a "highly charged, arrestingly detailed score" (The New York Times), comprised of lush orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, as well as a seemingly endless string of hits highlighting every cast member. With a book by Hugh Wheeler, based on an adaptation by Christopher Bond, Sweeney Todd tells the chilling tale of a vindictive 19th-century London barber, wrongly imprisoned by a corrupt judge, who exacts his grisly revenge with the help of a creative culinary accomplice.
Baritone Brian Mulligan, who has won critical praise for Company performances in Nixon in China and The Trojans with his "burnished, pliant sound, and gripping expressive penetration" (Chicago Tribune), will be making his role debut as Sweeney Todd. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe "who boasts one of the most powerful voices in opera ... who can do anything" (The New York Times) also performs for the first time the role of Mrs. Lovett. They join a renowned ensemble cast featuring soprano Heidi Stober as Johanna, soprano Elizabeth Futral as the Beggar Woman, baritone Elliot Madore as Anthony, tenor Matthew Grills as Tobias and bass-baritone Wayne Tigges as the despicable Judge Turpin.
Instantly recognized as a landmark in musical theater, praised for its witty interplay of words and music, as well as dazzling ensemble numbers such as "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" and the duet "Not When I'm Around," Sweeney Todd has won a combination of ten Tonys for the original Broadway production and 2005 revival (including Best Musical and Best Original Score in 1979). It has also inspired productions in both theater and opera companies around the world, so much so that New York Times' theater critic Frank Rich wrote: "[Sondheim] has changed the texture of the musical as radically as Oscar Hammerstein, and may yet leave our theater profoundly altered."
Director Lee Blakeley's "brilliant" (The New York Times) production of Sweeney Todd premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in 2011 and was staged at Houston Grand Opera last spring. Sung in English with English supertitles, the seven San Francisco Opera performances of Sweeney Todd are scheduled for September 12 (7:30 p.m.), September 15 (7:30 p.m.), September 18 (7:30 p.m.), September 20 (2 p.m.), September 23 (7:30 p.m.), September 26 (7:30 p.m.) and September 29 (7:30 p.m.), 2015.
The San Francisco Opera 2015-16 Season continues with Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (October 8-28), Mozart's The Magic Flute (October 20-November 20), Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (November 18-December 6), Rossini's The Barber of Seville (November 25-December 9), the Gordon Getty and Claude Debussy double bill The Fall of the House of Usher (December 8-13), Bizet's Carmen (May 27-July 3), Verdi's Don Carlo (June 12-29) and Janá?ek's Jen?fa (June 14-July 1). For more information, visit sfopera.com.
Single tickets for Sweeney Todd are priced from $26 to $381 (subject to change) and may be purchased at sfopera.com or through the San Francisco Opera Box Office at 301 Van Ness Avenue or by phone at (415) 864-3330. Standing Room tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on the day of each performance; tickets are $10 each, cash only.
The War Memorial Opera House is located at 301 Van Ness Avenue at Grove Street. Patrons are encouraged to use public transportation to attend San Francisco Opera performances. The War Memorial Opera House is within walking distance of the Civic Center BART station and near numerous bus lines, including 5, 21, 47, 49 and the F Market Street. For more public transportation information, visit bart.gov and sfmuni.com.
Casting, programs, schedules and ticket prices are subject to change. For further information about Sweeney Todd and San Francisco Opera's 2015-16 Season, visit sfopera.com.
ABOUT THE CAST/CREATIVE TEAM:
BRIAN MULLIGAN
Sweeney Todd
American baritone Brian Mulligan made his San Francisco Opera debut as Marcello (La Bohème) in 2008 and has since returned as Valentin (Faust), Albert (Werther), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), the title role in Nixon in China and the King's Herald (Lohengrin). He returned in 2014 as Count Anckarström (Un Ballo in Maschera) and Marcello, and he appeared as Coroebus (Les Troyens) in Summer 2015; in the Company's 2015-16 season he appears in the title roles of Sweeney Todd, Debussy's La Chute de la Maison Usher, Getty's Usher House and as Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor). Recent engagements include Prospero (Adès's The Tempest) with Frankfurt Opera; Yeletsky (The Queen of Spades) with Zurich Opera; André Thorel (Massenet's Thérèse) at Wexford Festival Opera; the Father (Hänsel und Gretel) with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Enrico with Canadian Opera Company, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Washington National Opera; the title role of Hamlet with Minnesota Opera; and Balstrode (Peter Grimes) at the Aspen Music Festival. Career highlights include Valentin at the Metropolitan Opera; the title role of The Death of Klinghoffer with Opera Theater of St. Louis; Enrico and Sharpless with English National Opera; Prometheus (Die Vögel) at Los Angeles Opera; Marcello at Houston Grand Opera and New York City Opera; Ford (Falstaff) at Japan's Saito Kinen Festival; and the title role of Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera and at the Ravinia Festival. Orchestral appearances include engagements with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra.
STEPHANIE BLYTHE
Mrs. Lovett
Considered to be one of the most highly respected artists of her generation, Stephanie Blythe made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2009 as a soloist in the Verdi Requiem and returned that year as Azucena (Il Trovatore); she previously performed with San Francisco Opera at the 2007 Stern Grove Festival. Blythe has sung in many of the renowned opera houses across the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera; Seattle Opera; the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Paris Opera; and Los Angeles Opera. Her broad repertoire includes the title roles of Carmen, La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, Tancredi, Mignon, Orfeo and Giulio Cesare; Frugola, the Princess and Zita (Il Trittico); Dalila (Samson et Dalila); Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre; Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera); Baba the Turk (The Rake's Progress); Jocasta (Oedipus Rex); Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites); Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri); Mistress Quickly (Falstaff); Ježibaba (Rusalka); and Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus). Recent and upcoming engagements include creating the role of Gertrude Stein in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's 27 with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Fricka (Der Ring des Nibelung) with the Met and Seattle Opera; Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), Amneris (Aida), Eduige (Rodelina) and Baba the Turk (The Rake's Progress) with the Met; Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera) with Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Diego Opera; and Ino and Juno (Semele) with Seattle Opera. Equally active on the concert stage, she has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, among several others. Blythe's most recent solo recordings include a collection of pieces by Mahler, Brahms and Wagner as well as an album of Handel and Bach arias-all released on the Virgin Classics label. She was named Musical America's Vocalist of the Year for 2009; her other awards include the 2007 Opera News Award and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award.
HEIDI STOBER
Johanna
Heidi Stober made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2010 as Sophie (Werther) and has since returned as Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Atalanta (Xerxes), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Nannetta (Falstaff), Magnolia Hawks (Show Boat) and Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera). The American soprano's recent engagements include Pamina with the Metropolitan Opera; Pamina, Susanna, Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Adina (L'Elisir d'Amore) and Micaëla (Carmen) with Deutsche Oper Berlin; and Zdenka (Arabella) with the Santa Fe Opera. A recent principal artist with Deutsche Oper Berlin, her other engagements with that company have included Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera), Ninette (L'Amour des Trois Oranges), Ascagne (Les Troyens) and Roggiero (Tancredi). Stober is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and her credits there include Musetta (La Bohème), Atalanta, Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Norina (Don Pasquale), Susanna, The Rose (Portman's The Little Prince) and La China in the world premiere of Catán's Salsipuedes. Other career highlights include Gretel with the Metropolitan Opera; La Folie and Thalie (Platée), Tigrane (Radamisto), Musetta and Ada Leverson in the world premiere of Morrison's Oscar with the Santa Fe Opera; Poppea (Agrippina) with New York City Opera; Morgana (Alcina) in Santiago, Chile; Aminta (Il Re Pastore) with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; and Leïla (Les Pêcheurs de Perles) at Opera Colorado. Recent and upcoming engagements include Oscar with the Metropolitan Opera; Gretel, Pamina, Ninette and Adina with Deutsche Oper Berlin; Sandrina (La Finta Giardiniera) with the Santa Fe Opera; and Ada Leverson with Opera Philadelphia.
ELIZABETH FUTRAL
Beggar Woman
Since her San Francisco Opera debut creating the role of Stella Kowalski in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire in 1998, American soprano Elizabeth Futral's other Company successes include the title role of La Traviata (2009) and originating the role of Vera Donovan in Tobias Picker's Dolores Claiborne (2013). Recent career highlights include creating the role of Alice B. Toklas in Ricky Ian Gordon's 27 at Opera Theatre of St. Louis; the title role of Saariaho's Émilie at the Lincoln Center and Spoleto USA Festivals; Violetta at Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and San Diego Opera; the title role of The Merry Widow with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Zdenka (Arabella) Minnesota Opera; Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) with Washington National Opera; the title role of Thaïs in Athens and Santiago, Chile; and the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at Portland Opera. No stranger to contemporary opera, she created the role of Laura Jesson in Previn's Brief Encounter at Houston Grand Opera in 2009, and in 2006 she originated the role of Princess Yueyang in Tan Dun's The First Emperor at the Metropolitan Opera. The Louisiana native's other notable engagements include the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Elvira (I Puritani) and Princess Eudoxie (Halévy's La Juive) at the Metropolitan Opera; Adina (L'Elisir d'Amore) and Gilda (Rigoletto) at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu; Thaïs at English National Opera; Violetta and the title role of Handel's Partenope at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Gilda at La Monnaie in Brussels; Nannetta (Falstaff) and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) in Munich; and the title roles of Semele, Daphne and The Ballad of Baby Doe at New York City Opera. Futral's extensive discography includes Meyerbeer's L'Etoile du Nord (Marco Polo); A Streetcar Named Desire and L'Enfant et les Sortilèges (DG); Glass's Hydrogen Jukebox (Euphorbia); Rossini's Otello and Zelmira as well as Pacini's Carlo di Borgogna (Opera Rara); Gordon's Orpheus and Euridice (Ghostlight); also Lucia di Lammermoor and a solo recital recording entitled Great Opera Arias (Chandos). Other engagements include Mimì (La Bohème) with Opera Birmingham; Elle (Poulenc's La Voix Humaine) and Nedda (Pagliacci) with Opera Columbus; and Miss Hedgehog (Picker's The Fantastic Mr. Fox) with Opera San Antonio.
ELLIOT MADORE
A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Canadian baritone Elliot Madore makes his San Francisco Opera debut as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd. His engagements in the 2014-15 season included Pelléas (Pelléas et Mélisande) with Munich's Bavarian State Opera and Croatian National Opera, Prince Hérisson de Porc-Epic (Chabrier's L'étoile) at Dutch National Opera; Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos) in Zurich and Adario (Rameau's Les Indes Galantes) with Les Arts Florissants in Paris. As an ensemble member with Zurich Opera, his roles with that company have included Valentin (Faust), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Schaunard (La Bohème), Andrei (Eötvös's Three Sisters), Silvio (Pagliacci), Silvano (Un Ballo in Maschera), and Germano (La Scala di Seta). Other career highlights include the title role of Don Giovanni with Opera Philadelphia, the Glyndebourne Festival and Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Lysander (The Enchanted Island) with the Met; Ramiro (L'Heure Espagnole) and the Cat/Grandfather Clock (L'Enfant et les Sortilèges) at the Glyndebourne and Saito Kinen Festivals; and Schaunard with Opera Colorado. In addition to the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mr. Madore was the recipient of the 2010 George London Award for a Canadian Singer from the George London Foundation, a finalist in the 2010 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers in Houston and the recipient of the ARIAS Emerging Young Artist Award from Opera Canada. He was also the winner of the 2009 Palm Beach Vocal Competition.
MATTHEW GRILLS
Tobias Ragg
A winner of the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Lotte Lenya Competition, American tenor Matthew Grills made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2013 as Nathanaël (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) and returned later that year as Count Almaviva (The Barber of Seville for Families). He has been a member of the young artist programs at the Seagle Music Colony, Portland Opera and the Santa Fe Opera, where he performed the role of Frank Harris in a workshop of Theodore Morrison's new opera Oscar. In 2013 he was presented in recital with Vocal Arts D.C. and the Washington Performing Arts Society at the Kennedy Center. His repertoire includes the roles of Goffredo (Rinaldo), Spoletta (Tosca), Jeník (The Bartered Bride), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Prunier (La Rondine) and Prince Charming (Cendrillon). Recent engagements include Fenton (Falstaff) with Wolf Trap Opera and a year of study at Munich's Bavarian State Opera last fall through a scholarship awarded by the Opera Foundation.
WAYNE TIGGES
Judge Turpin
Wayne Tigges made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2011 creating the roles of Sam and Wesley in the world premiere of Heart of a Soldier as well as singing the roles of Ariodates (Xerxes) and Zuniga (Carmen). He returned in 2013 to create the role of Joe St. George in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne. The American bass-baritone's recent engagements include Willy Wonka in the European premiere of Peter Ash's The Golden Ticket at the Wexford Festival; Escamillo (Carmen) and Leporello (Don Giovanni) at San Diego Opera; Jochanaan (Salome) with Arizona Opera; Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) with Opera Colorado and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Donner (Das Rheingold), Escamillo, Zuniga (Carmen) and the Bonze (Madama Butterfly) with Los Angeles Opera; the Vicar (Albert Herring), Basilio, Hercules (Alceste) and Nourabad (Les Pêcheurs de Perles) with Santa Fe Opera; Escamillo at the Glyndebourne Festival; Kolenatý (The Makropulos Case) with Paris Opera; and Achilla (Giulio Cesare) with the Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. A graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center, Tigges's other roles with that company include the title role of Le Nozze di Figaro, Capulet (Roméo et Juliette), Angelotti (Tosca), Sam (Un Ballo in Maschera) and the Bonze; he also created the role of Snook in Bolcom's A Wedding.
JOHN EASTERLIN
Pirelli
John Easterlin made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2006 as Don Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro). His recent engagements include creating Andy Warhol in the world premiere of Glass's The Perfect American in Madrid and London; Larry King in the U.S. premiere of Turnage's Anna Nicole with New York City Opera; the Scrivener (Khovanschina) and Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte) with the Metropolitan Opera; Andres (Wozzeck) and Prince Nilsky (The Gambler) with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Misail (Boris Godunov) at Madrid's Teatro Real; Jack O'Brien and Toby Higgins (The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and in Madrid; Herod (Salome) with the Vienna State Opera; and Squeak (Billy Budd) and the Hunchback Brother (Die Frau ohne Schatten) with Paris Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. His CD and DVD catalogues include appearances on PBS Great Performances and Live from Lincoln Center with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera and Alice Tully Hall, as well as a telecast of the Los Angeles Opera's acclaimed production of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which won 2008 Emmy and Peabody Awards and 2009 Grammy Awards for "Opera Recording of the Year" and "Classical Album of the Year." Easterlin moved from a career as a Broadway theater performer where he was seen as Giuseppe in the national tour of The Most Happy Fellow, the title role of Candide at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C., the first national tour of Chicago, and in the Broadway production of Band of Brothers.
AJ GLUECKERT
Beadle Bamford
Tenor AJ Glueckert is a former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow hailing from Portland, Oregon who made his Company debut as a Preacher and a Follower in the world premiere of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene in 2013. Other Company appearances include Mr. Knox in Dolores Claiborne, the Steersman in Der Fliegende Holländer, Ambrogio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and The Barber of Seville for Families, Flavio in Norma, Elder Gleaton in Susannah and a Judge in Un Ballo in Maschera. Glueckert is an alumnus of the 2012 Merola Opera Program, where he performed Mr. Owen in Argento's Postcard from Morocco. As a resident artist with Minnesota Opera, he was heard as Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor) and also created the role of the Crown Prince in the world premiere of Puts's Silent Night with Opera Philadelphia. He is also a graduate of the young artists programs at Santa Fe Opera and Utah Opera. A two-time winner of the regional Metropolitan Opera National Auditions, he holds a degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and he appeared as the Drum Major (Wozzeck) with Opera Parallèle in San Francisco.
PATRICK SUMMERS
Conductor
Principal Guest Conductor for San Francisco Opera, as well as Houston Grand Opera Artistic and Music Director, Patrick Summers has led a vast repertory for the Company, including Ariodante, Samson et Dalila, Iphigénie en Tauride, Il Trittico, Xerxes and Der Fliegende Holländer; the world premieres of André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire (1998), Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking (2000) and Christopher Theofanidis and Donna Di Novelli's Heart of a Soldier (2011); the West Coast premiere of Heggie's Three Decembers (2008); and Heggie's Moby-Dick (2012). Summers has twice received Merola Opera Program's Otto Guth Award and was named its "Distinguished Alumnus" in 2001. The maestro has led an array of productions at the Metropolitan Opera, including La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Così fan tutte, I Puritani, Rodelinda and Iphigénie en Tauride, as well as Madama Butterfly, Salome and I Puritani, which were broadcast live in HD to movie theaters globally. Summers has also conducted at the world's preeminent opera companies, including Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, Lisbon Opera, Bordeaux Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bregenz Festival, Welsh National Opera, Opera Australia, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera and the Dallas Opera. Other world premieres include Previn's Brief Encounter at Houston Grand Opera and Paul Moravec's The Letter at the Santa Fe Opera. Summers has overseen many of Houston Grand Opera's important artistic advances, including the formation of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra. During his tenure, he has supervised and conducted seven world premieres as well as many seminal opera works not previously mounted by the company. He conducted Le Nozze di Figaro in Summer 2015.
JAMES LOWE
Conductor
Making his San Francisco Opera debut in 2015, James Lowe conducts Sweeney Todd, which he recently led at Houston Grand Opera. Other recent career highlights include Oklahoma! with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Catan's Florencia en el Amazonas and Floyd's Of Mice and Men for Utah Opera; the world-premiere productions of Portman's The Little Prince and Heggie's The End of the Affair at Houston Grand Opera, and Carmen, Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Entführung aus dem Serail for that company; and Adamo's Little Women at Lyric Opera Cleveland. Lowe received a Grammy nomination as music director and conductor of Anything Goes, which received the 2011 Tony Award for "Best Revival of a Musical." His other work as a music director and conductor on Broadway includes a new production of LES MISERABLES as well as Gypsy starring Patti Lupone.
LEE BLAKELEY
Director
Lee Blakeley was born in Yorkshire, England and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and at Glasgow University. He was awarded a 2007 Churchill Travelling Fellowship. Blakeley's highly acclaimed production of A Little Night Music, with Leslie Caron, Greta Scacchi and Lambert Wilson, for the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, in 2010 was followed by the French première of Sweeney Todd (2011), Sunday in the Park with George (2013), Into the Woods and The King and I (2014), all at the Châtelet. In North America, Blakeley recently directed La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein, The Pearl Fishers and Madama Butterfly at Santa Fe Opera; Orpheus and Euridice for Minnesota Opera; The Tales of Hoffmann in Toronto; and Falstaff for Los Angeles Opera. Other credits include Il Turco en Italia for Angers Nantes Opera; Cosi fan Tutte at London's Royal College of Music; Into the Woods for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland; A Love for Three Oranges, A Night at the Chinese Opera (nominated for the 2008 TMA "Achievement in Opera" Award) and Die Fledermaus for Scottish Opera; as well as operas in Wexford, Philadelphia, Antwerp and London. Blakeley has been an associate director for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Glyndebourne Festival Opera; and English National Opera; and has worked for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera New Zealand Opera, the Royal Flemish Opera, Monte Carlo Opera and in Lille, Trieste and Tenerife. Recent work includes Handel's Riccardo Primo at St Louis and Rigoletto for Santa Fe.
TANYA MCCALLIN
Production Designer
English designer Tanya McCallin made her Royal Opera House debut in 2001, creating set and costume designs for Kirov Opera's production of Macbeth, directed by David McVicar. She made her Royal Opera debut the same year creating costume designs for Rigoletto, also directed by McVicar, and has since returned to The Royal Opera to create designs for Le Nozze di Figaro, directed by McVicar, and Carmen, directed by Francesca Zambello. McCallin was born in Cambridge and studied at Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design. Work early in her career included creating designs for The Barber of Seville for English National Opera, directed by Jonathan Miller, and she has gone on to design for opera and theater worldwide. She has worked on several acclaimed productions in collaboration with McVicar, creating designs for La Traviata (Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Geneva), Manon (ENO, Houston, New Zealand, Dallas, Barcelona and Chicago), The Turn of the Screw (Mariinsky Theatre, ENO and Madrid), Macbeth (Kirov Opera, Kennedy Center) and Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Salzburg Festival) and costume designs for Der Rosenkavalier (Scottish Opera, Opera North, ENO) and Così fan tutte (Strasbourg, Scottish Opera). McCallin's theater work includes designs for the Donmar, Royal Court, National Theatre and in the West End. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a lecturer and examiner in stage design.
RICK FISHER
Lighting Designer
American lighting designer Rick Fisher was born in Philadelphia. He has worked widely in opera, dance and theater. For Santa Fe Opera, he has designed lighting for productions including Wozzeck, Albert Herring, Madama Butterfly, La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and Les Pêcheurs de perles. His other opera work includes Turandot and The Fiery Angel (Bolshoi), Turandot (English National Opera), Peter Grimes (Norwegian National Opera), Der fliegende Holländer (Vilnius), Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Maometto II (Garsington Festival) and Falstaff (Los Angeles Opera). In dance, Fisher's credits include Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (London, Los Angeles and Broadway). He has designed lighting for West End productions including The Audience, The Judas Kiss and Chariots of Fire and for Billy Elliot the Musical (Victoria Palace, Broadway and Australia). He has received two Olivier Awards for Best Lighting Design, and Tony Awards for Billy Elliot and An Inspector Calls (Broadway).
Pictured: Sweeney Todd at Houston Grand Opera, April 2015. © Lynn Lane/Houston Grand Opera.
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