MO ZHOU
DIRECTOR
BIOGRAPHY
Chinese-born stage director Mo Zhou is a visionary force in opera and theater, celebrated for her innovative and dynamic productions that transcend traditional boundaries. As a faculty member at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, she revitalizes the classical canon while championing cutting-edge projects. Her work has graced esteemed stages worldwide, including Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Elbphilharmonie, and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in China.
This past season showcased Ms. Zhou’s versatility and ingenuity with several exciting company débuts. These included directing the Butler Studio Showcase at Houston Grand Opera, reviving her acclaimed Madama Butterfly with Florentine Opera and Kentucky Opera, La Bohème for Arizona Opera, the revival of Meilina Tsui and Melisa Tien’s The Big Swim for Houston Grand Opera in conjunction with the Asia Society Texas Center and a new production of Così fan tutte for Virginia Opera which she also staged for The Juilliard School. This spring she will make her Canadian début directing Madama Butterfly for Vancouver Opera and finish up the season with a new production of Don Giovanni for Music Academy of the West. Future engagements include a début with Opera Colorado for Madama Butterfly in addition to a new production of Madama Butterfly for Calgary Opera, Arizona Opera, and Opera Grand Rapids where Mo currently serves as a guest Artistic Director.
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Her 2023-2024 season featured the world premiere of Meilina Tsui and Melisa Tien’s The Big Swim commissioned by Houston Grand Opera and Asia Society Texas Center, a reimagined Madama Butterfly set in post-WWII Allied-occupied Japan at Virginia Opera, Tosca with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, and a “supremely stylish” (Opera Today) La Calisto for the Glimmerglass Festival. Previous highlights include a sold-out Rinaldo at Minnesota Opera which was picked by the StarTribune as Minnesota’s Top Classical Performance Highlights of 2022 and the critically acclaimed Iphigénie en Tauride with Boston Baroque, praised by Forbes for its digital innovation. She is a recipient of the OPERA America Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors as well as OPERA America Robert Tobin Director-Designer Prize.
An advocate for young talent, Ms. Zhou has taught at the University of Michigan and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory and has served as guest dramatic faculty at prestigious programs like the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Butler Studio at Houston Grand Opera, and Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara. Ms. Zhou received her training at The Juilliard School, Merola Opera Program, Wolf Trap Opera, and Glimmerglass Festival. She has also worked on the directing staff at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and Dallas Opera. She holds an MFA in Stage Directing from Columbia University, where she studied under Anne Bogart, and a BA in English and Theater from Bowdoin College.
Current as of March 1, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"Stage director Mo Zhou brought boundless imagination to the project and imbued it with a well-judged laser focus..." – Opera Today
La Calisto – "Supremely stylish…Stage director Mo Zhou brought boundless imagination to the project and imbued it with a well-judged laser focus, fine eye to detail, and virtuosic control. But while it was seamlessly coordinated, her cunning bravura actually inspired the gifted performers to give all they had in highly personalized, seemingly spontaneous solos and interactions, commendable use of the space, and her unerring ability to balance the comic and serious opportunities in this timeless tale…"
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"...imaginative...the brainchild of director Mo Zhou..." – Star Tribune
Rinadlo – “Full of imaginative...staging ideas, it's also finely sung and acted, and that comes through clearly…In Minnesota Opera's version — the brainchild of director Mo Zhou — old money does battle with new, the silly-suited aristocracy trying to either swallow or merge with a successful startup where the leaders dress in pointy-shouldered, flame-emblazoned leather jackets, bodices and codpieces…It proved a fine setting for this "Rinaldo." Not only do those heart-tugging arias work particularly well at close range, but it's possible to admire the details on Tyler M. Holland's wild, wonderful costumes and also admire how much the singers are inhabiting characters who could be caricatures in less subtle hands.”
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"Mo Zhou, making her FGO debut, has taken the #MeToo movement into account and come up with a Giovanni closer in spirit to the text..." – Palm Beach Arts Paper
Don Giovanni – "Mo Zhou, making her FGO debut, has taken the #MeToo movement into account and come up with a Giovanni closer in spirit to the text: A man entirely made of id, driven by a thirst for sexual conquest, and glorying in his ability to carry it off so successfully."
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"...thoroughly professional..." – The San Francisco Examiner
Merola Grand Finale – “In the direction of apprentice stage director Mo Zhou, of Nanjing, the evening unfolded with simplicity, speed and continuity perhaps none of the 30 previous grand finales I've ever seen could match: a thoroughly professional job.”
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"...Mo Zhou’s deft staging..." – South Florida Classical Review
Gianni Schicchi & Buoso's Ghost – “With adroit staging, terrific singing from top to bottom by a large cast and an eye-filling production, this pairing is both potent theater and delightful entertainment…Mo Zhou’s deft staging brought out the twin bill’s fun.”