IMG Artists is delighted to announce that one of opera’s most sought-after rising-star conductors, Timothy Myers, has been named Austin Opera’s Artistic Advisor for the 2018/19 season. He will work with General Director & CEO Annie Burridge and the Austin Opera artistic staff on casting, repertoire planning, and orchestra administration to ensure continued artistic excellence. Myers, who recently served as Artistic and Music Director of North Carolina Opera and is currently in rehearsals for a new production of West Side Story at Houston Grand Opera, will also conduct Austin Opera’s production of the Pulitzer Prize–winning opera Silent Night in January and February, 2019.
“We are honored to have Timothy, Steven, and Peter contribute their extraordinary talent to our Company,” said Annie Burridge, General Director & CEO of Austin Opera. “In the coming months we share our plans to select our next permanent artistic leader, and we look forward to engaging our audience and musicians in that process.”
American conductor Timothy Myers, a protégé of legendary conductor Lorin Maazel, enjoys a career that encompasses a wide breadth of opera and symphonic repertoire, as well as a continued commitment to maintaining long-term relationships with institutions and artists. He recently concluded his nearly decade-long tenure as the Artistic and Music Director of North Carolina Opera, where his work inspired a precipitous rise in the performance standard and the forging of collaborations with multiple local and national organizations.
Noteworthy recent engagements have included a debut with Florida Grand Opera leading his first Salome, concerts with the North Carolina Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, a Lyric Opera of Chicago debut conducting Rising Stars in Concert, and the workshop of Intimate Apparel, Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s commission for the Metropolitan Opera.
In 2016 Myers made his European debut with a highly acclaimed production of Barber’s Vanessa at Wexford Festival Opera, where he returned in 2017 to lead a new production of Jacopo Foroni’s rediscovered Margherita, the opera’s first performances since 1852.
An experienced collaborator in the creation of new works, Myers has conducted world premieres at Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Opera Africa. He is currently involved in the development of The Fix by composer Joel Puckett and librettist Eric Simonson for Minnesota Opera, where he will conduct its world premiere in 2019. Other notable future engagements include a return to Houston Grand Opera for West Side Story, his Atlanta Opera debut conducting Sweeney Todd, and a debut at Santa Fe Opera.
About Austin Opera
Founded in 1986 as the city’s first professional opera company, Austin Opera employs hundreds of local and international artists each year to produce operatic productions designed to inspire, entertain, and instigate discussion among Austin audiences. Last year, more than 18,000 individuals attended one of Austin Opera’s four productions. Under the leadership of General Director Annie Burridge, the company has built a reputation for producing high quality opera across a wide range of repertoire that celebrates Austin’s diversity and contributes to its thriving arts and culture. Austin Opera’s recent production of The Manchurian Candidate won four Austin Critics Table Awards for Best Classical Concert/Opera, Best Singer (David Adam Moore), Best Singer (Donnie Ray Albert) and Best Digital Design.
The company’s education programs are built around the core productions and are administered with artistic integrity as well as social and economic diversity and inclusion. More than 8,000 Central Texans participated in educational offerings last year. Austin Opera’s educational offerings include free student programs for grades K-4 and 5-12, respectively, as well as community programs for ticket holders and Central Texans who are interested in the performing arts and opera. The opera’s affinity groups, La Noche de Opera and UrbanNites, offer educational forums as part of its membership.
