New York City Opera General Director Michael Capasso Retires

New York City Opera General Director Michael Capasso has retired. "We are so grateful to Michael for his time with the company, working tirelessly to bring back the company and programming for New York City audiences to enjoy," said Roy G. Niederhoffer, Chairman of the Board, Emeritus.

"After 43 years of producing opera, musicals, plays, and concerts in the US and internationally, I have made the difficult decision to retire as General Director of New York City Opera. Throughout my career, I have produced and/or directed multiple world premieres, American premieres, and New York premieres, as well as all of the works of Giacomo Puccini, a major portion of the standard repertoire, and a healthy amount of American opera. I am also proud that I have discovered and nurtured many artists now enjoying important careers worldwide. The highlight of my life was leading City Opera out of bankruptcy and back on stage in Lincoln Center. I have loved the company since I was a pre-teen enjoying dozens of memorable performances by this great institution. I wish them well going forward and will attend and applaud all of their future programming. I intend to move to Italy, where I am a citizen. I will still pursue opportunities as a stage director as well as finally write a play and a screenplay that I have put off for years," said Michael Capasso.

New York City Opera was famously dubbed "The People's Opera" by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia at its founding in 1943. More than 80 years later, City Opera continues its historic mission to inspire audiences with innovative and theatrically compelling opera, nurture the work of promising American artists, and build new audiences through affordable ticket prices and extensive outreach and education programs. For more information, visit https://nycopera.com/about.