LAWRENCE EDELSON
DIRECTOR
BIOGRAPHY
Lawrence Edelson is highly respected not only as a critically acclaimed stage director, but also as a visionary company leader who has created programs in the areas of artist mentorship and new works development that have served as models of innovation for opera companies around the country.
As a director, Lawrence has been praised for his ability to fuse vivid story telling with deeply expressive imagery. He has been praised by Opera Now magazine as doing a “splendid job of making [opera] relevant and understandable.” His productions have been called “ingenious” and “imaginative” by Opera News, and “stunningly touching and entertaining” by The Washington Post. These diverse productions have included the American Premiere of Telemann’s Orpheus for Wolf Trap Opera; Philip Glass’s Hydrogen Jukebox for Fort Worth Opera; La Traviata for The Minnesota Opera; Il barbiere di Siviglia for Hawaii Opera Theater; The Cradle Will Rock, The Consul, Sky on Swings, Il postino, La fille du régiment, La Cenerentola, Man of La Mancha, and H.M.S. Pinafore for Opera Saratoga; Carmen for Toledo Opera; Little Women for Michigan Opera Theatre; Three Decembers for Virginia Opera; a double-bill of La serva padrona and Trouble in Tahiti for the Adler Fellows of San Francisco Opera at Opera Santa Barbara; the New York premiere of Fauré's rarely produced Pénélope for Manhattan School of Music; the Houston premiere of Ainadamar for the Moores School of Music; Così fan tutte for Boston University’s Opera Institute at the Huntington Theater; and the world premiere of The ToyMaker off-Broadway as part of the New York Musical Theater Festival. He was a guest member on the directing staff of New York City Opera, where he restaged Little Women twice: for the work’s Lincoln Center premiere and for the company’s Japan tour.
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Deeply committed to the mentorship and training of the next generation of operatic artists, Lawrence has also served as the Artistic Director of the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston and was a faculty member at the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv for five years.
Before focusing on Directing and Arts Management, Lawrence enjoyed a performing career in both ballet and opera. He studied voice and musicology at The University of Ottawa, and dance at The Joffrey Ballet School in New York. As a dancer, he performed with Boston Ballet, Ballet West, and BalletMet Columbus. He has choreographed for ballet and opera companies around the country. As a singer, he appeared in opera, oratorio and musical theatre internationally.
A self-described “arts-entrepreneur,” Edelson is a successful and creative leader with a proven track record of leading non-profit and for-profit companies, and of balancing artistic idealism and fiscal realism. In the for-profit sector, Lawrence founded Pro Musica Tours while still a student at the University of Ottawa. For over twenty years, the company was one of New York City’s most highly respected cultural tourism operators, specializing in educational arts travel programs for student groups. Lawrence completed his master’s degree in Performing Arts Administration at New York University, authoring his thesis Opera: The Irrelevant Art: Uniting Marketing and Organizational Strategy to Combat the Depopularization of Opera in the United States. He has consulted on projects for Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), New York City Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, MCC Theater, and on the cultural development of Lower Manhattan for New York City council member Alan Gerson.
In the opera field, Lawrence is best known as the founder of American Lyric Theater (ALT). He has been responsible for assembling ALT’s world-renowned artistic staff and creating the first full-time program for emerging opera composers and librettists in the United States: The Composer Librettist Development Program (CLDP). As Artistic and General Director, he coordinates the diverse artistic programs of ALT, including the CLDP, commissioning of new works, and co-production relationships. At ALT, Lawrence also initiated the Opera Writers Diversity and Representation Initiative (OWDARI), for which he was recognized in 2021 by Musical America as one of the Top 30 Professionals of the Year.
A tireless advocate for emerging artists and the diversification of audiences for opera, Lawrence continues to forge collaborations with opera companies across the country. Notable projects at ALT include the development of The Long Walk (Beck/Fleischmann), which premiered at Opera Saratoga in 2015; JFK (Little/Vavrek), which premiered at Fort Worth Opera in 2016; Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers (Sankaram/Johnston), which premiered at Houston Grand Opera/HGOCo in 2018; Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me? (Smith/Johnston), which premiered at Urban Arias in 2018; Murasaki’s Moon (Wiancko/Brevoort), which premiered at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in a production by On Site Opera in 2019; and The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (Chen/Simpatico), which premiered at Chicago Opera Theater in 2023. Lawrence is currently overseeing the development of multiple new operas at ALT, including The Selfish Giant (Assad/Palmer); Splintered - A Nutcracker Adventure (Chen & Sosa/Palmer); La Reina (Sosa/Pedroza); The Halloween Tree (Popov/Asaro after Bradbury); Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant (Meier/Lewis); She Who Dared (Barnes/Mouton); Working for the Macbeths (Navarro/Yi); and Tevye’s Daughters (Weiser/Fleischmann).
From 2014 to 2022, Lawrence also served as the Artistic and General Director of Opera Saratoga. During his tenure at Opera Saratoga, Lawrence was responsible for rebranding the organization; expanding the company's young artist program and creating new mentorship opportunities for conductors and directors; diversifying the repertoire presented; and increasing community engagement and education programs year-round. Reviewing the company’s 2018 season, The Wall Street Journal noted that “under the leadership of Lawrence Edelson, Opera Saratoga has redoubled its commitment to producing modern operas and is doing so at a very high level...polished, immaculately cast, and a stimulating juxtaposition of contemporary compositional voices.” Lawrence was responsible for significantly increasing Opera Saratoga’s artistic profile nationally, while simultaneously increasing income in all areas including an increase in individual giving by over 250%, and an increase in ticket sales by over 60%.
In July of 2023, Lawrence joins Chicago Opera Theater as General Director, a position he will hold concurrent with his role at ALT.
Current as of August 11, 2023
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"... this near-flawless production…” – South Florida Classical Review
Werther – “The traditional production, directed by Lawrence Edelson, made no apologies for the romantic melodrama, portraying the action and characters realistically. Magical images of silhouetted lovers in the moonlight in the first act and Werther’s final meeting with Charlotte and death amid falling snow on Christmas Eve lit up the stage. . . The first-night audience’s ovation at the opera’s conclusion was unusually long and enthusiastic for Miami. . . Musical Francophiles and lovers of great singing should not miss this near -flawless production of a romantic operatic classic.”
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"... Edelson’s production proved tight and riveting…” – Opera News
The Consul – “Opera Saratoga’s Artistic and General Director Lawrence Edelson has tackled vital political issues in his programming before, but even he can’t have realized how timely Gian Carlo Menotti’s Cold War “Broadway opera” The Consul (1950) would be this summer. Seen on July 9, Edelson’s production proved tight and riveting.”
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"... a brilliant staging by Lawrence Edelson..." – Huffington Post
The Cradle Will Rock – “…a brilliant staging by Lawrence Edelson... Edelson’s staging expertly counterpoints with specific choreography and stage direction a dozen orchestrational flourishes... One of Edelson’s crucial, droll grace notes is the surprise appearance on the feet of the members of the Liberty Committee of stylish red pumps that perfectly draw a line from them to the prostitute Moll, who, of course, has had the fashion sense—not to mention the integrity—to sport them from the start."
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"... Edelson’s deft, ingeniously minimal production..." – Opera News
Hydrogen Jukebox – “…there was certainly plenty of dramatic interest in director Lawrence Edelson’s deft, ingeniously minimal production…Hydrogen Jukebox was certainly a daring choice for this conservative community, but the audience sat rapt throughout — even through the repeated refrain “When Bush was Drug Czar, U.S.A.” — and rose to a unanimous standing ovation (this reviewer included) at the end.”
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"... mesmerizing..." – Opera News
La Traviata – “Freshly directed by Lawrence Edelson… taking wing at nearly every critical moment, it peaked in a mesmerizing final act.”
REPRESENTATIVES
General