Thaddeus Strassberger

Thaddeus Strassberger is a young American director who manages to straddle the sometimes very different worlds of European and US opera production seamlessly. Strassberger's productions are fresh and thoughtful, and he often presents us with modern parallels without being contrived,' writes Opera Now Magazine. His career as a director and scenic designer for opera in Europe and North America was launched when he was awarded the prestigious European Opera Prize in 2005 for his production of LA CENERENTOLA (Opera Ireland / Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden). Following the success of his production of Ambroise Thomas' HAMLET for the Washington National Opera conducted by Plácido Domingo and Patrick Fournillier, he returns to the Kennedy Center this season to direct and design the scenery for Verdi's NABUCCO. His new productions of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA (Norwegian National Opera) were highly praised by both critics and the public and are scheduled for revivals in the coming seasons due to popular demand.

Thaddeus Strassberger is a young American director who manages to straddle the sometimes very different worlds of European and US opera production seamlessly. Strassberger's productions are fresh and thoughtful, and he often presents us with modern parallels without being contrived,' writes Opera Now Magazine. His career as a director and scenic designer for opera in Europe and North America was launched when he was awarded the prestigious European Opera Prize in 2005 for his production of LA CENERENTOLA (Opera Ireland / Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden).

Following the success of his production of Ambroise Thomas' HAMLET for the Washington National Opera conducted by Plácido Domingo and Patrick Fournillier, he returns to the Kennedy Center this season to direct and design the scenery for Verdi's NABUCCO.

His new productions of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA (Norwegian National Opera) were highly praised by both critics and the public and are scheduled for revivals in the coming seasons due to popular demand. His production of the rarely heard Rossini's LA GAZZETTA (Rossini in Wildbad Festival, Germany) garnered nominations for both Best Production and Best Direction from Opernwelt Magazine in 2008.

Following his critically acclaimed new production of Meyerbeer's grand opera LES HUGUENOTS at the Bard Summerscape - the first staged production in New York in nearly a century - he returned to create the first American staged production of Franz Schreker's masterpiece DER FERNE KLANG in Summer 2010. He returns again in 2012 to direct the North American staged premiere of Chabrier's opera-comique LE ROI MALGRE LUI.

Other highlights include LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck), AIDA (Lyric Opera of Kansas City), ORFEO ED EURIDICE and TURANDOT (Theater Augsburg), LA TRAVIATA and DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (Arizona Opera), LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST (l'Opéra de Montréal), and ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (Wolftrap Opera).

In addition to returning to the Norwegian National Opera, Strassberger's upcoming engagements include debuts with the Los Angeles Opera, Theater an der Wien (Vienna), Opera Company of Philadelphia, The Minnesota Opera, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (London).

Strassberger earned his degree in Engineering from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City and further studies were supported by a Fulbright Fellowship to complete the Corso di Specializzazione per Scenografi Realizzatori at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 2001.

October 2011

Video and Audio

Making of Opera: Nabucco - Set Design

Making of Opera: Nabucco - Set Design

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts presents Nabucco, Verdi's Italian masterpiece. Go behind the scenes with the Washington National Opera and discover what it takes to bring an opera to life.

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