Mary Birnbaum is thrilled to return to Opera Columbus, where she directed Aida (2018) with the Columbus Zoo and La Traviata (2016). New York Credits include: Die Zauberflöte, The Rape of Lucretia, Eugene Onegin (Juilliard), The Classical Style (Carnegie Hall, World Premiere), and concerts with NYFOS. Recent work includes: Hatuey (Montclair Peak Performances, World Premiere), Kept (VA Arts Festival, World Premiere), Halka (Bard Music Festival), Giulio Cesare (Boston Baroque), collaborations with New World Symphony, and the Ojai Festival. International work includes: Otello in Taipei and Elisir in Costa Rica. Ms. Birnbaum co-curates a collaborative arts accelerator at the Orchard Project called The Greenhouse. Upcoming: new production of La Bohème (Santa Fe Opera, 2019) and Empty the House (Curtis/Opera Philadelphia).
Mary Birnbaum is a New York based opera director. Recent productions include Dido and Aeneas (The Juilliard School, Chateau de Versailles), Empty the House (Curtis/Opera Philadelphia), Enemies (Kentucky Opera), Hatuey (Montclair Peak Performances) and The Classical Style (Ojai Festival, Carnegie Hall). International work includes: Otello (National Symphony Orchestra, Taipei, Taiwan) and L’elisir d’amore (Compania Lirica, Costa Rica). Mary’s new production of La Bohème opened the 2019 season at Santa Fe Opera; she is the first woman to have directed the season opener since 1997.
In addition to her directing work, she teaches and coaches acting for singers, and is the associate director of the Artist Diploma Program in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School, where she has taught for 10 years. She has also taught at the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann program, Bard, Harvard, Mannes and the Santa Fe Opera.
