Francisco Negrín
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Francisco Negrin (, born June 5, 1963)Federico Figueroa (Mexico City, October 2004) "Un mexicano en el mundo


archived here
is a creative director working in
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
, as well as in the world of stadium and arena based shows and other events. He is considered to be one of the best directors in the world. He is known for his musical and cinematic approach, and for his success with projects considered to be difficult to stage. In opera, he is seen as a specialist of both baroqueMartin Buzacott (Brisbane, September 1998) "Fit for a rare treat", ''
The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
''
archived here
and contemporary music and his work in all media is characterised by a highly integrated use of
dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
and technology as part of the
dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The role of a dramaturg in the field of modern dramaturgy is to help realize the multifaceted world of the play for a production u ...
and a keen understanding of the culture being treated.


Biography

Negrin was born in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, the son of Spaniard Francisco Negrín Díaz and Greek-Hawaiian Catherine Negrín (née Maggioros). He is the great-grandson of
Juan Negrín López ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...
, President of the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
. When he was 9 years old, the family moved from Mexico to the family home in
Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...
, France.André Peyregne (Nice, March 3, 1990) ''Il monte Werther à l'opera de Nice''
''Nice Matin''archived here
After completing his secondary studies at the Lycée in Antibes (graduating with a mathematics and physics Baccalaureate), Negrin studied literature and film at the university of
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
, France, while attending singing lessons at the Conservatoire d'Aix-en-Provence, where he was first in contact with the world of opera. He worked as an
extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
and later as an assistant director and
stage manager Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal proce ...
at the
Aix-en-Provence Festival The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumenta ...
(1982–83). There he met Swiss stage director , who became his mentor and teacher. Negrin assisted him on many productions, including
Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...
's ''
Ring (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...
'' cycle. Rochaix introduced him to the artist agent Lies Askonas. She recommended Negrin to Gerard Mortier who hired him as a staff assistant director at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels for two seasons (1984-1986). There he continued to learn his trade assisting the directors
Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; ; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ''I ...
, , John Cox and
Maurice Béjart Maurice Béjart (; 1 January 1927 – 22 November 2007) was a French dancer, choreographer and Theatre director, opera director who ran the Béjart Ballet Lausanne in Switzerland. He developed a popular expressionistic form of modern ballet, tac ...
. After leaving La Monnaie in 1986, Negrin moved to London where he started his career as a director. He has lived in Spain since 2003.


Career

Negrin and conductor Peter Ash put together a performing version of the unfinished '' La chute de la maison Usher'' by
Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
, which they staged at
Christ Church, Spitalfields Christ Church Spitalfields is an Anglican church built between 1714 and 1729 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor. On Commercial Street (London), Commercial Street in the East End and in today's Central London it is in the London Borough of Tower H ...
, in London. This performance came to the attention of the
Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...
which commissioned a production of the reconstruction for the
Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...
in 1989. That was the start of an international directing career which, in opera, includes the following productions:


Opera productions


Other work

In 2024, negrin was the creative director for three special concerts celebrating Andrea Bocelli’s 30 years of career, at the
Teatro del Silenzio The Teatro del Silenzio (English: Theater of Silence) is an open air amphitheater located in the city of Lajatico – the hometown of Andrea Bocelli – in the Tuscany region of Italy. In 2006, Bocelli convinced the municipality of Lajatico to b ...
in Tuscany, featuring stars from music and screen including as Ed Sheeran, Jon Batiste, Will Smith, Brian May, Johnny Depp, Plácido Domingo, Josep Carreras, Shania Twain and more. A feature film of the shows, directed by Sam Wrench was released in worldwide cinemas, ''Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration'' From 2020 to 2023 has co-directed together with
Es Devlin Esmeralda Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. She has received several accolades including a Tony Award ...
and Gavin Robins 4 monumental shows for the 49th to 52nd Union day Celebrations in the UAE. In 2021 Negrin wrote and directed a new production for Holiday on Ice: ''A New Day''. The tour was stopped by COVID lockdowns and postponed to 2022. The show then completed a second tour in 2024, of France this time, under the title ''Aurore''. In 2020 Francisco Negrin directed the tableau vivant for Louis Vuitton’s Paris fashion week autumn/winter womenswear show. Francisco Negrin has been a creative consultant for Balich Worldwide Shows, for whom he has conceived stadium, arena and other commercial events and shows. In 2019 Negrin conceived, wrote and directed the opening ceremony of the Lima Panamerican Games and was the creative supervisor for the closing and also for the
Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...
ceremonies. These ceremonies had a huge impact in the country. Negrin worked with the rock band
OK Go OK Go is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, now based in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar, bass, backing vocalist, v ...
, conceiving the staging for a performance at London's The Roundhouse, using an installation by architect Ron Arad called ''Curtain Call''. But the show was cancelled before opening.


Television and DVD

The following productions have been broadcast on TV: ''Venus'', ''Les contes d'Hoffman'', ''Una cosa rara'' (Drottninholm version), ''Una cosa rara'' (Valencia version) and ''
Intimissimi Intimissimi is an Italian clothing label founded in 1996, which specializes in Brassiere, bras, briefs, lingerie, Waistcoat, vests, and pyjamas for women and men. History The brand was launched in 1996 by Sandro Veronesi. Starting in 2005, ...
on ice 2014 and 2105'' were both broadcast in Italy and Spain. The following productions have been released on DVD: ''I puritani'' (DVD and Blu-ray), ''L'arbore di Diana'', ''Giulio Cesare'' (Sydney version), ''Giulio Cesare'' (Copenhagen version), ''Partenope'' (Copenhagen version), ''Norma'' (Barcelona version) and ''Il Trovatore'' (Macerata version).


Awards

Negrin's production of ''
Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
'' at The Royal Opera House in London was nominated for two
Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
s in 2004: "Best new opera production" and "Outstanding achievement in opera" (for
Bejun Mehta Bejun Mehta (born 29 June 1968) is an American countertenor and voice teacher. He has been awarded the Echo Klassik, the Gramophone Award,
). His production of ''
Giulio Cesare ''Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' (; ; HWV 17), commonly known as , is a dramma per musica (''opera seria'') in three acts composed by George Frideric Handel for the Royal Academy of Music in 1724. The libretto was written by Nicola Francesco Haym ...
'' for Opera Australia won several
Green Room Awards The Green Room Awards are Australian peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, theatre companies, independent theatre, musical theatre, contemporary and experimental performance, and opera. The awards, which were established in ...
in 1995, including best opera director and best opera production. Negrin's second production of ''Giulio Cesare'', the one for the Royal Danish opera in Copenhagen, won the Award for best opera production in 2003, while Negrin's production of ''Partenope'' for the same company was nominated for the award in 2009.


References


External links

*
Francisco Negrín
Operabase Operabase is an online global database for audiences and professionals. It lists details on opera performances, opera houses and companies, and performers as well as their agents. It was founded in 1996 by English software engineer and opera love ...

Artist profile
at HarrisonParrott Management
Artist profile
at AMCK Management {{DEFAULTSORT:Negrin, Francisco 1963 births Living people People from Mexico City Spanish opera directors Musicians from Barcelona