Leon Major (born 1933,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

director. He is the Artistic Director of The Maryland Opera Studio for the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. From 1998-2003 he was Artistic Director of

Boston Lyric Opera Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976. BLO is the largest and longest-lived opera company in New England. BLO employs nearly 350 artists and creative professionals annually—vocalist ...

and from 2003–2007 he was artistic consultant for Opera Cleveland. He has directed opera and theatre throughout the Americas and Europe for companies that include:

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

Washington Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performa ...

Glimmerglass Opera The Glimmerglass Festival (formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera) is an American opera company. Founded in 1975 by Peter Macris, the Glimmerglass Festival presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight ...

San Diego Opera The San Diego Opera Association (SDO) is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California. It incorporated in 1965, presenting operas under the name of the San Diego Opera.Vancouver Opera Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada. Its mainstage performances occur in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, other venues in Vancouver and occasionally els ...

, Teatro Municipale (Rio de Janeiro), The

Opera Company of Philadelphia Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festival O ...

, Florentine Opera,

Austin Lyric Opera Austin Opera, formerly known as the Austin Lyric Opera, is an opera company based in Austin, Texas. The company was founded in 1986. Its key personnel include Annie Burridge as general director, and Timothy Myers as artistic advisor. In January 20 ...

Wolf Trap Opera Company The Wolf Trap Opera Company (sometimes abbreviated WTOC) was founded in 1971 as part of the program of the Wolf Trap Foundation located near the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Fairfax County, Virginia. The company is a residen ...

, the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

and The Opera Festival of New Jersey. Among the productions he has directed are: ''Macbeth'', ''Falstaff'', ''Intermezzo'', ''Volpone'', ''Don Pasquale'', ''Don Carlos'', ''Resurrection'', ''Aida'', ''Don Giovanni'', ''Roméo et Juliette'', ''La traviata'', ''L'elisir d'amore'', ''Carmen'' (on

Boston Common The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beac ...

) ''Eugene Onegin'', ''The Aspern Papers'', ''Cosi fan tutte'', ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'', and ''Peter Grimes''. Of his

production, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said: "''Falstaff'' asdirected with vitality and imagination by Leon Major." His 1981 Stratford Shakespeare Festival production of H.M.S. Pinafore was later presented for broadcast on television. Aside from his work as an independent director, Major has given master classes in Mexico City, The Shanghai Conservatory, Tel Aviv (Israeli Vocal Arts Institute) and Toronto's

Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto Con ...

. He was the Founding and first Artistic Director of the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and served for ten years as Artistic and General Director of Toronto Arts Productions which was the founding company at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto. Major is a graduate of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, has an honorary doctorate from Dalhousie University and is a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. A new opera, '' Shadowboxer'', based on the life of Joe Louis and conceived and directed by Major, premiered on 17 April 2010 at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.Midegette, Anne
"Inspired by Joe Louis, opera 'Shadowboxer' scores one for reality"
''Washington Post'', 17 April 2010

References

*Schabas, Ezra
''There's Music in These Walls: A History of the Royal Conservatory of Music''
Dundurn Press Ltd., 2005 pp. 176–177.

External links

* official website
www.leonmajor.comLeon Major
faculty page, University of Maryland School of Music
Leon Major Interview
Legend Library, TheatreMuseumCanada {{DEFAULTSORT:Major, Leon 1933 births Canadian opera directors Living people Members of the Order of Canada People from Toronto University of Toronto alumni University of Maryland, College Park faculty Canadian artistic directors