Michael Cavanagh has directed well over 100 main stage productions at opera companies all over North America.  He studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg Germany, apprenticed as a stage director for 3 years at Vancouver Opera and served as Artistic Director of Edmonton Opera for 4 seasons. He has written librettos for 7 chamber operas that have been produced many times, and is noted for his role as dramaturge and original director of new works, including several for Queen of Puddings Music Theatre in Toronto. This past summer he made a hugely successful debut at the San Francisco Opera with his production of Nixon in China by John Adams, a production he developed as Vancouver Opera's presentation at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He has also directed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, L'Opera de Montreal and many other companies.  His upcoming opera productions include a new production of The Flying Dutchman at Boston Lyric Opera, return engagements at the opera companies of Vancouver, Austin and Minneapolis, as well as a new production of Carlyle Floyd's Susannah for the San Francisco Opera.

"Cavanagh’s direction was outstanding, from the intoxicated mayhem in the banquet scene to the little touches of humour that brightened and humanized the opera all evening. "

Nixon in China, Vancouver Opera, Globe and Mail, Elissa Poole Mar 14th 2010