Eric Einhorn, stage director

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2011-12 SEASON

Hansel and Gretel

Metropolitan Opera

Dec. 16, 21, 24, 26, 29, 30, 2011

January 3, 7, 2012

Le Nozze di Figaro

Ft. Worth Opera

May 2012

2012-13 SEASON

Title TBA

Lyric Opera of Chicago

December 2012

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UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTSHansel and GretelMetropolitan OperaDecember 16, 2011-January 7, 2012Le Nozze di FigaroFt. Worth OperaMay 2012Title TBALyric Opera of ChicagoDecember 2012RECENT ENGAGEMENTSTurandot Florentine OperaFidelio Utah OperaCarmen Buckhill-Skytop Music FestivalRoyal Palace/Sancta Susana Bard Music FestivalDialogues des Carmelites Pittsburgh OperaCarmen Pittsburgh OperaDon Pasquale Pittsburgh OperaXerxes Pittsburgh OperaOrpheus in the Underworld Glimmerglass OperaDialogues des Carmelites Austin Lyric OperaCosi fan tutte Wolf Trap OperaAlcina Wolf Trap OperaScenes of Gypsy Life Gotham Chamber OperaLa Traviata Connecticut Grand OperaBrundibar Michigan Opera TheatreGallantry NYU Steinhardt SchoolCosi fan tutte Florida Grand Opera (outreach)Oedipus the King Klasikos TheaterThe Medium Great Music for a Great City (A public music program of CUNY)Brundibar Great Music for a Great CityKorczak's Orphans Real Time Opera Metropolitan Opera Staff DirectorAn American Tragedy (Francesca Zambello) - world premiereAndrea Chénier (Nicolas Joel/Thomas)Anna Bolena (David McVicar)Boris Godunov (Stephen Wadsworth)La Cenerentola (Cesare Lievi/Thomas)Doctor Atomic (Penny Woolcock)The First Emperor (Zhang Yimou) - world premiereFrom the House of the Dead (Patrice Chereau)Hansel and Gretel (Richard Jones)Lucia di Lammermoor (Mary Zimmerman)Manon (Laurant Pelly)Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Otto Schenk/McClintock)The Nose (William Kentridge)Nixon in China (Peter Sellars)Orfeo ed Euridice (Mark Morris)Peter Grimes (John Doyle)Rusalka (Otto Shenk/Feldman)Thais (John Cox)Satyagraha (Phelim McDermott)MASTERCLASSESBaldwin- Wallace University (Berea, OH)Ramapo College of New Jersey (Mahwah, NJ)Texas Christian University (Ft. Worth, TX)University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT)University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI)AWARDS2008-09 Austin Critics Table AwardsDialogues des Carmélites at Austin Lyric OperaWinner: Best Opera; Nominated: Best DirectorNoteworthy Proposal for X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X 2008 Opera America Director/Designer ShowcaseWinner, 2004 National Opera Association Scholarly Paper CompetitionEDUCATIONOberlin College Conservatory of MusicB.Mus, Opera Stage Direction & Vocal Performance
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Photos

Alcina
Carmelites
Carmen
Cosi fan tutte
Don Pasquale
Fidelio
Orpheus
Turandot
Xerxes

Select a Production:

Alcina

Alcina | Wolf Trap Opera | Set Design: Erhard Rom | Costume Design: Mattie Ullrich | Lighting Design: Robert Grimes

Carmelites

Dialogues des Carmelites | Austin Lyric Opera | Set Design: Harry Frehner & Scott Reid | Costume Design: Robert Dahlstrom | Lighting Design: Shawn Kaufman

Carmen

Carmen | Pittsburgh Opera | Set Design: Allen Charles Klein | Costume Design: James Schuette | Lighting Design: Andrew Ostrowski

Cosi fan tutte

Cosi fan tutte | Wolf Trap Opera | Set Design: Erhard Rom | Costume Design: Mattie Ullrich | Lighting Design: Robert Grimes

Don Pasquale

Don Pasquale | Pittsburgh Opera | Set Design: Cameron Anderson | Costume Design: Toni West | Lighting Design: Stevie Agnew

Fidelio

Fidelio | Utah Opera | Set Design: Michael Gianio | Costume Design: Susan Allred | Lighting Design: Nicholas Cavallaro

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Orpheus

Orpheus in the Underworld | Glimmerglass Opera | Set Design: Allen Moyer | Costume Design: Gabriel Berry | Lighting Design: Shawn Kaufman

Turandot

Turandot | Florentine Opera | Set & Lighting Design: Peter Dean Beck | Costume Design: John Lehmeyer

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Xerxes

Xerxes | Pittsburgh Opera | Set Design: Antje Ellermann | Costume Design: Toni West | Lighting Design: Shawn Kaufman

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Video

"Carmelites" Final Scene

"Orpheus" Fly Duet

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production videos

"Carmelites" Final Scene

"Orpheus" Fly Duet

Please note that the video excerpts are for reference only.

Bio

bio
Lauded by the Austin Chronicle as a "rising star in the opera world" and praised by Opera News for his "keen eye for detail and character insight for which the result was a seamless, gripping flow," director Eric Einhorn makes debuts with Utah Opera for Fidelio, Florentine Opera for Turandot, and Fort Worth Opera for Le nozze di Figaro in the 2011-12 season. He also returns to the Metropolitan Opera to stage Hänsel und Gretel as well as to the companys director roster for new production of Anna Bolena and Manon along with Billy Budd and Ernani. Additionally, his upcoming engagements include his debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Last season, he reprised Dialogues des Carmélites in a return to Pittsburgh Opera, created a new production of Carmen for the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival, and returned to the Metropolitan Opera new productions of Adams' Nixon in China and Boris Godunov and the revival of Lucia di Lammermoor, both in the house and on tour to Japan. His recent direction of Dialogues des Carmélites for Austin Lyric Opera was a resounding triumph and was awarded "Best Opera" at the Austin Critics Table Awards in addition to garnering him a nomination for "Best Director." His other recent projects include Carmen with Pittsburgh Opera as well as Don Pasquale and Xerxes for the company's Opera Center, Alcina and Così fan tutte for Wolf Trap Opera, Orpheus in the Underworld for Glimmerglass Opera, Janá!eks The Diary of One Who Vanished for Gotham Chamber Opera, Hans Krásas Brundibár for Michigan Opera Theatre, staged concerts of Hindemith's Sancta Susanna and Weill's Royal Palace for the Bard Music Festival, Cosi fan tutte for Florida Grand Opera outreach, Douglas Moore's Gallantry for New York University, as well as Oedipus the King for Klasikos Theater in Pittsburgh. Mr. Einhorn has served on the directing staff of the Metropolitan Opera since 2005, collaborating upon numerous new productions including two world premieres, Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy and Tan Dun's The First Emperor, as well as Shostakovich's The Nose and Janáceks From the House of the Dead. He is the former resident stage director for Great Music for a Great City at the City University of New York Graduate Center where he staged additional performances of Brundibár and The Medium. A proponent of Holocaust art, Mr. Einhorn has directed several pieces on the subject including Adam Silvermans Korczaks Orphans (co-director of the world premiere staging) with Real Time Opera, a reading of Jo Ellen Huberts While Childhood Slept with the Holmdel Theatre Company, and Der Kaiser von Atlantis at Oberlin College. In addition, he has served as resident stage director for the Music at Hillwood concert series at the Tilles Center of Long Island University. Mr. Einhorn is past winner of the National Opera Associations scholarly paper competition and is a frequent contributor of book reviews to the NOAs Opera Journal. He has recently joined the adjunct music faculty of Ramapo College of New Jersey. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Opera Directing & Voice Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Reviews

reviews
Turandot Florentine OperaHere, the young and recently celebrated director Eric Einhorn takes a simple but effective approach, which goes a long way toward putting some distance between our 21st-century multicultural world and Puccini's Eurocentric vision of "The Orient." The curtain rises on a young father and daughter curled up in a chair, reading a bedtime story. He sings to her from the book, explaining the edict at the heart of the story they are about to read. Einhorn also invents some clever business to get us through the dramatically inert Act Two scene with Ping, Pang, and Pong. And he knows how to shift focus in the opera's huge crowd scenes so we know where to focus our attention. Overall it was a solid production with some stirring singing and inventive stagecraft, which definitely thrilled an audience hungry for one of the Italian classics.-Milwaukee Magazine, November 7, 2011Director Eric Einhorn added a bit of stage business to the production - a father reading a story to his daughter. The addition is the perfect vehicle for keeping the story in fairy-tale context.-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, November 5, 2011FidelioUtah OperaStage director Eric Einhorn finds logical things for the characters to do during the long expository stretches, and he isn't afraid to tweak convention. Having Rocco bring the prisoners out for their famous "fresh air" chorus in the middle of the night seems unorthodox at first but makes more dramatic sense on reflection.-Salt Lake Tribune, October 9, 2011Dialogues des CarmelitesPittsburgh OperaEric Einhorn's staging was masterly in creating variety with a single set, modified only by a few changes of props. Most crucially, the opera's finale was awesome.-Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 2, 2011Einhorn's take left me inspired.-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 2, 2011The sets from Calgary Opera also deeply add to the sense the fragility and stark simplicity of the nuns convent life, only occasionally brightened by slashes of light. Director Einhorn expertly keeps the stage movements consistent with such elemental settings, often clustering the nuns together in clearly isolated, vulnerable groups. And his powerful choice for how the story ends can shake you and move you to tears. -Gordon Spencer on WRCT, May 1, 2011CarmenPittsburgh OperaBut just how much does an audience need to be reminded of this [dark] context when watching "Carmen," an opera known for its parade of memorable arias and choruses such as "Toreador Song"? That's at the crux of an intriguing new Pittsburgh Opera production of that opened Saturday night at the Benedum Center. Amid gritty scenery from Austin Lyric Opera, stage director Eric Einhorn laid out the brutal elements of the plot and achieved fantastic acting by the cast led by mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich as Carmen and tenor Roger Honeywell as her lover, Don Jose.-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 22, 2010Foremost among Einhorn's strengths was finding individuality for all the characters and freshness for their interactions.-Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 22, 2010Cosi fan tutteWolf Trap Opera[Einhorn] managed to pull off this updating of the plot in often compelling, not to mention humorous and some ever so slightly vulgar, ways. Hes not the first director to put an unhappy, unsettled spin on the operas ending, but Einhorn strongly underlined how none of the four central characters would ever be the same, how deeply wounded each one was by what happened during the experiment. In a persuasive touch, Einhorn showed one of the women discovering the wicked scheme earlier than the libretto has it.-The Baltimore Sun, July 1,2009Dialogues des CarmelitesAustin Lyric Opera2008-09 Austin Critic's Table Award Winner for "Best Opera"; Nominee for "Best Director"What is striking about the production from the start is the economy of its design and direction...Credit Eric Einhorn, a rising star in the opera world, for leading the artists with unique and creative stage direction...A tremendous experience I won't forget for a long time.-Austin Chronicle, April 24, 2009The new Austin Lyric Opera production of Dialogues of the Carmelites makes a powerful case for including this opera in the repertoire...In this production, Austin Lyric Opera stage director Eric Einhorn and scenic designers Harry Frehner and Scott Reid bring Poulencs opera to life with a minimalist imaginative touch that exquisitely complements this music.-La Scena Musicale, April 26, 2009In order to connect authentically with the audience, Dialogues demands an extraordinary depth of understanding from the entire creative team, in addition to a shipload of powerful singing. And that is what it got in Austin. At the center was the unflinching, astutely observed naturalistic stage direction of Eric Einhorn. He consistently found appropriate action to connect scenes across the orchestral interludes, and his crowds were frightfully convincing...In the final scene, Einhorns signal contribution was the reaction of the crowd. Laughter and bloodlust gradually give way to horror and disgust as the nuns are beheaded one by one. In many productions, the crowd is marginalized or absent from the final scene, so that the audiences attention is entirely on the nuns. But Einhorn gets it right: It is the reaction of the crowd, its revulsion against its own handiwork, that gives meaning to the nuns martyrdom.-Incident Light.com, April 20, 2009Don PasqualePittsburgh OperaA fresh approach to staging "Don Pasquale" provided the unalloyed delights of Pittsburgh Opera Center's new production of Gaetano Donizetti's opera, seen Saturday night at the Creative and Performing Arts High School, Downtown. Although there were musical problems, the boldness of stage director Eric Einhorn's approach elicited laughter throughout the show...Einhorn dispensed with the stereotype of the old fool out to recapture his youth by marrying a young woman. Pasquale in this production is oblivious in a different way, as a cloistered man of science, a botanist, who, if anything, seems never to have had a romantic youth.-Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, February 10, 2009Eric Einhorn staged the work with a focus on detail that made the protagonists unusually credible...The title character, instead of the portly old bachelor looking for a pretty wife, is here a trim 19th-century intellectual obsessed with botany in a house filled with bell jars and plants. His nephew Ernesto is no romantic hero bybut rather a ne'er-do-well poet expecting his rich uncle to support his Bohemian lifestyle. Norina, Ernesto's true love, who enters into a fake marriage with Pasquale to teach him a lesson, is a liberated Victorian woman who wants to be a novelist. In theatrical terms, the director's concept expands our insights and enhances the elemental plot. -Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 10, 2009AlcinaWolf Trap OperaEric Einhorn directed the action with a keen eye for detail and character insight, ensuring that each da capo aria became an integral emotional part of the narrative. The result was a seamless, gripping flow, aided visually by Mattie Ullrich's lively costumes and Robert H. Grimes's nuanced lighting.-Opera News, October 2008 (online) Orpheus in the UnderworldGlimmerglass OperaIt was delightful to take in Offenbachs frothy operetta, which pokes fun at Glucks august masterpiece, the next afternoon. Eric Einhorns production, with sets by Allen Moyer, is jolly and appropriately over the top.-The New York Times, August 7, 2007Like a whoopee cushion among the love seats, Offenbachs Orpheus is unashamedly vulgar and pushes the envelope to the limit, or with the chorus costumes in the last scene, even beyond the limit. Director Eric Einhorns riotous staging overflows with visual gags, such as having a lovesick Diana look like Marlene Dietrich, or ending one scene with an allusion to the barricades in Les Miserables.-Syracuse New Times, August 15, 2007The production of Offenbachs Orpheus in the Underworld gets nearly everything right. Part Brideshead Revisited and part Feydeau farce, with an unholy bit of Cabaret (think leather) thrown in, its vivid, daring, funny, and musically sound.-The New Yorker, July 23, 2007Director Eric Einhorn's staging is a clever Second Empire romp that borders on the salacious without being offensive.-Globe and Mail [Canada], August 20, 2007Oedipus the KingKlasikos TheaterTroupe opens with a fine "Oedipus": "Oedipus Rex," as it's most often called, is a play about heroism, pride, denial and despair -- generally in that order of both occurrence and importance. But under the direction of Einhorn...the blame (for all tragedies must lay blame) is spread around nicely, so the soothsayer Teiresias' words mid-play -- "What man like this could think he could escape the anger of the gods?" -- begs another question. Perhaps it was no man. Altogether, this "Oedipus" is a resonant if at times over-grand presentation of a classic tragedy.-Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 24, 2006Klasikos Theater made a visually stylish debut Wednesday with its production of Sophocles' Greek tragedy "Oedipus."...Eric Einhorn's direction moved the actors through the space and action with efficiency and dispatch.-Pittsburgh Tribune-Reviiew, June 27,2006 XerxesPittsburgh OperaCenter's updated "Xerxes" a roaring success: In the wrong hands and voices, baroque opera may emerge as a string of repetitious arias. Pittsburgh Opera Center's "Xerxes," which opened Saturday at the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts Theater, Downtown, should dispel any fears in that direction. As staged by Eric Einhorn in the lively English translation of Stephen Wadsworth (with projected supertitles as well) it is a funny, delightful show that need make no apologies for being 268 years old. Once the action gets going, the opera tells of a king who temporarily falls in love with his brother's fiancee, abandoning his own betrothed, and allowing the heroine's evil sister to hatch a series of lies to snag the handsome brother for herself. If that sounds convoluted, it is -- when told in the opera's original setting of Persia, 500 B.C.E. Einhorn has remedied that by updating the production to an American speakeasy during Prohibition. King Xerxes is a Mafia boss, the sought-after Romilda a flapper and star of the club run by Xerxes' brother Arsamene -- a politician trying to distance himself from the mob. On an excellent set by Antje Ellermann, Einhorn manages to make all this lucid and hilarious.- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 20, 2006

Contact

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MANAGEMENT: Guy Barzilay Artists International Artists Management www.guybarzilayartists.com 420 West 25th Street, Suite 4F New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212.741.6118 Fax: 212.741.2558 Guy Barzilay , President Kristin Cowdin , Artist Manager DIRECT: e_einhorn_yahoo.com 917.968.6267

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Eric Einhornstage director

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