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DAN WALLACE MILLER
DIRECTOR
BIOGRAPHY
Hailed as a “visionary director” by The Stranger, Dan Wallace Miller’s stage direction is “riveting… well executed, and relevant.” (CityArts) As Founder and Artistic Director of Vespertine Opera Theater, Mr. Miller dedicates his career to presenting operas in unique spaces that are dramatically engaging and cleverly innovative. His unique concepts and perceptive direction have proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.
In 2022, Miller became the Artistic Director for Inland Northwest Opera, having previously directed a filmed version of a new production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice which was met with rave reviews, and was currently available to stream. Last season, he created a new production of Susannah for the University of Oklahoma, returned to Central City Opera to direct Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, served as assistant director for San Francisco Opera’s La Traviata, as well as directed the same opera for Inland Northwest Opera, and headed the direction for Seattle Opera’s 2023 gala. This season, he returns to San Francisco Opera as the assistant director for Lohengrin, joins Opera San Jose to direct Rigoletto, and directs The Merry Widow for Portland State University.
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Recent projects include Tosca for Opera Naples, Two Remain for Central City Opera, and a new production of Susannah with Wolf Trap Opera. Miller began 2021 by directing a filmed version of Tosca as well as an abridged live version of Die Walküre for Seattle Opera, returned to Central City Opera for Dido and Aeneas, and returned to Kentucky Opera for Carmen. He made his mainstage début with Seattle Opera directing their productions of Il Trovatore and Three Singing Sisters, having previously joined them for Turn of the Screw, The (r)evolution of Steve Jobs, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Così fan tutte, Béatrice et Bénédict, Aïda, and Porgy and Bess. He made his Washington National Opera début for Kevin Puts’ Silent Night and Central City Opera for their production of Billy Budd. Additional engagements have included work with Atlanta Opera for Silent Night, Pacific MusicWorks for Die Zauberflöte and Semele, Opera Colorado for Rigoletto, and staged excerpts from Der Ring des Nibelungen for the Miami Music Festival Wagner Institute.
Mr. Miller’s Vespertine Opera Theater “…is making opera unfamiliar again in all the best ways…” (The Stranger). His recent productions with the company include the U.S. Prèmiere of Benjamin Britten’s adaptation of Francis Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias at Seattle’s oldest Vaudeville theater, Columbia City Theater; The Rape of Lucretia in Seattle’s biggest landmark cathedral, St. Mark’s Cathedral; and Heart Mountain, Vespertine Opera Theater’s first commissioned work named after the detention camp Heart Mountain, composed by Sarah Mattox, and based on the real-life journal of Kara Kondo, an internee at the detention camp. This production was performed at the Inscape Arts Building where local JapaneseAmerican community leaders were imprisoned after the attack at Pearl Harbor. In addition to his work with Vespertine Opera Theater, Mr. Miller currently serves as Resident Assistant Director at Seattle Opera. During his tenure with the prestigious company since 2010, Miller has collaborated on productions of Nabucco, Le nozze di Figaro, Maria Stuarda, Der fliegende Holländer, Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte, La Traviata, and Kátya Kabanová.
Current as of August 28, 2023
REPRESENTATIVES
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“...Words fall short to praise this representation..." – El Nuevo Herald
Die Walküre – “Words fall short to praise this representation which did not need a scenographic framework to achieve the full force of these scenes…. Drama and music certainly came together as the public applauded the staging of Dan Wallace Miller. …Unforgettable.”
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“...Dan Wallace Miller’s direction is apparent in every scene..." – The Sunbreak
– “Dan Wallace Miller’s direction is apparent in every scene. He does a great job of emphasizing the farce without going over the top, allowing the music and the libretto their fullest expression.”
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"...offered a fresh perspective..." – Musical America
The Magic Flute – “PMWs latest project… offered a fresh perspective on The Magic Flute by combining period instruments with a provocatively anti-traditional staging. Dan Wallace Miller was the director, using a new translation and adaptation.”
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"...visionary director..." – The Stranger
The Combat – “With this remarkable production of The Combat, visionary director Dan Wallace Miller and his cast transformed not only the Seattle Opera rehearsal building, but also my heart. This is a profound experience of theater.”
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"...astute direction..." – The Stranger
The Rape of Lucretia – “Under the astute direction of Dan Wallace Miller, José Rubio both vocally and physically portrays the horrible fracture of self that turns Tarquinius into a man who’ll rape…”