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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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.”