Keith Warner (born 6 December 1956) is a British
opera director
Crossbreed is an American industrial metal band from Clearwater, Florida, United States, formed in 1996. They were signed with Artemis Records before being dropped from the label in 2003. The band released two EPs and three full-length albums b ...
, designer and translator.
He is noted for his flamboyant stagings of
Richard Wagner's operas.
Early years
Warner was born in London and went to Woodhouse School in Finchley, North London and then studied English and drama at the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
from 1975-78. He subsequently worked as an actor, a teacher of
drama therapy and a
fringe theatre director. He joined
English National Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...
in 1981, working as revival director, staff director and associate director until 1989. In 1985, he also worked as associate director for
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland.
History
Scottish ...
.
Career
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Warner combined the roles of director of productions for New Sussex Opera, artistic director for Nexus Opera and associate artistic director of
Opera Omaha
Opera Omaha is a major regional opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1958, the professional company is widely known for the International Fall Festival events it held in the 1980s and 1990s, which garnered international attention and served ...
.
In 2005, Warner staged Wagner's ''
Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...
'' at the
Stadttheater Minden, with the
Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie
The Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (North West German Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Herford. It was founded in 1950 and, along with Philharmonie Südwestfalen and Landesjugendorchester NRW, is one of the 'official' orchestr ...
conducted by
Frank Beermann
Frank Beermann (born 13 March 1965) is a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) at the Chemnitz Opera for several years, and has worked freelance at international opera houses from 2012. He has conducted premieres and recordings of ...
.
Warner was appointed artistic director of the
Royal Danish Opera
The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...
, taking up the post in July 2011,
but resigned after six months, along with conductor and music director
Jakub Hrůša
Jakub Hrůša (born 23 July 1981 in Brno), is a Czech conductor.
Education
Hrůša is the son of the architect Petr Hrůša. Hrůša studied piano and trombone, and developed an interest in conducting, during his years at Gymnázium třída K ...
, as a result of problems with funding.
In the 2014/15 Season he directed Welsh National Opera's production of ''Peter Pan'' at the Royal Opera House and on tour.
References
British opera directors
Living people
1956 births
{{opera-bio-stub