Magic Flute was the second production I directed for the Teatro della Opera in San Juan. The International cast was world class and the amazing set was from the Washington Opera production.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

Othello was my first trip to San Juan and was especially gratifying in being able to work with two operatic giants, native to Puerto Rico, the late Antonio Barasorda and the truly inspiring Justino Diaz. To collaborate with Maestro Guadagno made this a humbling and transformative experience.

One of the great opportunities in my career came from an idea suggested by a former student at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Edward Randall was a house tenor at Oper Chemnitz and proposed to the intendent that an "American" director would be an interesting choice to direct their new production of "Kuss mich Katchen".  The German language production was a huge challenge for me, but it allowed me the privilege to collaborate with an incredibly talented design staff.

Conducted by maestro Eckehard Stier, with set design by Ralf Winkler, Küss, mich Kätchen was a great success in Oper Chemnitz repertoire. The stage in Chemnitz features a turntable divide by three elevator sections. All of which we used to bring the show within a show, on-stage and back-stage, to life.  

Svenja Beneke as Lois and Daniel Schroder as Bill

Carola Krautz as Kate
Thomas Georgi as Petruccio

Gabi Schmidt as Kate
Michael Floth as Petruchio

South Carolina Opera

I directed three productions for this company, which performed at the Historic Newberry Opera House. We also toured our productions of La Boheme and Tosca to Hilton Head Island.

This production of The Marriage of Figaro was performed at the historic Newberry Opera House. The concept moved the action to 1780's Philadelphia where the Count had been sent as ambassador. This set was designed by my late colleague John Scheffler. John was a mentor for me since my graduate studies at FSU. We did over a dozen operas together. 
This was our last.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring Hal MacIntosh as Scarpia and conducted by Maestro Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

Tosca

This production of Tosca was premiered on Hilton Head Island as a tour from South Carolina Opera - Starring       and conducted by Robert Moody.

The Consul

This chamber production of The Consul  featured Maestro Thomas Jaber at the piano. Another design by John Scheffler, the walls are covered with the infamous "papers" of which Magda sings. This was an amazing cast at The Academy of Vocal Arts and showed how  dedicated singing/actors could bring a work to life

I was fortunate to repeat the Menotti masterpiece at Rice University almost ten years later. Again, a Scheffler design  completely reimagined. And once again the production was played by now Professor Jaber - who truly makes the piano sound like an orchestra.

The blocks that decorate the walls are actually a dozen words, like "freedom", translated into a dozen languages and applied like bricks. The floor is painted as a chess board where the characters in the waiting room become pieces in a cruel waiting game.

Like the production in Philadelphia this Houston version was double cast.

Tosca

Wonderful set for Tosca at Opera Delaware. Paul Atkins as Cavaradossi, under the musical direction of Maestro Chistofer Matkatsoris.

The amazing Katherine Ciesinski as Flora Tosca in Act II.

Act II - The Palazzo Farensi

Il Trovatore

The set for Il Trovatore was designed by me and was a variation of the set I had performed on at FSU. That set, constructed of hexagons, was the conception of Rodger Brunyate, the first opera director I ever worked under.  Musical directer  Chistofer Matkatsoris conducted The Wilmington Opera Society production.

Luci di Lammermoor

The final production of The Wilmington Opera Society - Lucia di Lammermoor. This was the second of three consecutive shows I directed in Wilmington, Delaware. The first was Il Trovatore and after Lucia - Tosca. This was a rented set with the incomparable Christine Donahue as Lucia.

A Little Night Music

This production at Pease Auditorium was produced by the Charlottetown Players - a group that I helped develop and directed for over 10 years.
This was without a doubt one of the finest shows we produced. Gary Sivak's   beautiful "birch tree" set was complimented by a cast of local stars including 
Jacquelyn Culpepper and Gerald Colbert as Desiree and Frederick.

Camelot

Camelot opened the 1990 CPCC Summer Theatre season. This beautiful production was designed by Joe Gardner with costumes by Robert Croghan. The racked central disc, sinking into the stage, served as a metaphor of Arthur's kingdom and the round table.

The cast was headlined by Gerald Colbert as Arthur and the late Todd Monday as Lancelot. Todd did several shows with me at CPCC and at AVA. He was making his mark on the International Opera stage when he was struck down, far too young. I think this picture of him entering Guinevere's room is the most dramatic picture ever taken from any of my productions. A fitting tribute to the talented baritone.

42nd Street

42nd Street was designed and costumed  by Robert Croghan. FSU grad  and Broadway tour star Elizabeth Stacey lead an all-star cast that included local NPR personality Mike Collins

Dial "M" for Murder

Dial M for Murder was a CPCC Summer Theatre production. One of four "murder mysteries" I directed for CP. For six seasons we alternated comedies with mysteries for my productions.

Deathtrap

Deathtrap followed some years later. A truely remarkable set by NCSA graduate James Burns and performed by two of my favorite Charlotte area actors, Christian Casper and Gerald Colbert.

Boeing, Boeing

Over the River and Through the Woods

The Rainmaker

The Comedy of Tenors

My career started at Central Piedmont CC in the summer of 1971 after I had graduated from High School.  I would return to the same stage many times over the years. Pease Auditorium was one of the most challenging spaces I have ever had to negotiate. My last production there was in the summer season of 2017.
I have always enjoyed being in and directing Ken Ludwig's plays. In 1996 I acted in Lend Me a Tenor and it was only fitting that the last show I directed at Pease was it's squeal, The Comedy of Tenors.  

James K. Flynn as Saunders

Craig Estep was a professional regional opera tenor. He was my music director/conductor for several CPCC productions during the academic years. Here we got to enjoy his brilliant comic timing as well as his operatic voice. They say directing is 90% casting...never more true than in this comic romp!

Caroline Renfroe has appeared in a half dozen of these comedy/mysterys for me over the years. One of my very favorite actresses her smart characterizations were a hallmark of these Summer Theatre productions.

Beautiful set design by Robert Edge. The addition to this set was the baby grand piano. Farces are so dependent on door placement. All that goes out the window when you worked on the Pease stage with little depth and and a 60' proscenium! (Pease has since then been torn down and a new theatre will arise from the dust sometime around 2022.)

Our solution for the final 10 minutes of the play. To make it even more challenging we had to restore the set for the curtain call where we did an abbreviated silent version of  entire play again in "fast forward"!

The Bridges of Madison County

The Bridges of Madison County was designed by James Duke with a simple, fragmented realism that allowed us over 50 scene changes during the show. Jeff Childs evocative lighting brought it all together. Beautifully sung by Sarah  Henkel and Ryan Deal supported by a great ensemble.

Ryan Deal and Sarah Henkel in the final scene at the bridge.

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