Oliver Mears is an English opera director.

Education

Mears read English and History at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

, where he was awarded a Double First Class Honours Degree in English and History. He began assisting the playwright and director

Howard Barker Howard Barker (born 28 June 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter and writer of radio drama, painter, poet, and essayist writing predominantly on playwriting and the theatre. The author of an extensive body of dramatic works since the 197 ...

while still at university, before becoming a Trainee Assistant Director at the

King's Head Theatre The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an off-West End venue in London. It is the second oldest operating pub theatre in the UK. In 2021, Mark Ravenhill became Artistic Director and the theatre focusses on producing LGBTQ ...

, London.

Second Movement

Mears founded

Second Movement ''Second Movement'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Eddie Harris and pianist/vocalist Les McCann recorded in 1971 and released on the Atlantic label.

as joint Artistic Director with the conductor Nicholas Chalmers. His productions for them included the UK stage premiere of

Veniamin Fleishman Veniamin Iosifovich Fleishman, (russian: Вениами́н Ио́сифович Фле́йшман, July 20, 1913 in Bezhetsk, Tver Governorate – September 14, 1941 in Krasnoye Selo, Leningrad Oblast) was a Soviet composer. ''Rothschild's Viol ...

's opera ''

Rothschild's Violin "Rothschild's Violin" (russian: Скрипка Ротшильда, translit=Skripka Rotshilda – also translated as "Rothschild's Fiddle") is a short story by Anton Chekhov. Publication "Rothschild's Violin" was first published in ''Russkiye Ved ...

'', '' Mozart and Salieri'', ''

Trouble in Tahiti ''Trouble in Tahiti'' is a one-act opera in seven scenes composed by Leonard Bernstein with an English libretto by the composer. It is the darkest among Bernstein's "musicals", and one of only two for which he wrote the words and the music. (He ...

'', ''

A Hand of Bridge ''A Hand of Bridge'', opus 35, is an opera in one act composed by Samuel Barber with libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, and is possibly the shortest opera that is regularly performed: it lasts about nine minutes. It premiered as a part of Menotti's F ...

'' and ''The Knife's Tears''. The latter production toured to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

in the Czech Republic in October 2010.

Northern Ireland Opera

In 2010 Mears was appointed as the Artistic Director of the newly created

Northern Ireland Opera Northern Ireland Opera is Northern Ireland's national opera company. The company is based at the Carnegie Building, Donegall Road, Belfast, and its major funder is the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The company's patron is Sean Rafferty, and ...

. His productions for them have included ''The Medium'', ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', which won the Irish Times Theatre Award for Best Opera in 2012, ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' (opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera premiere ...

'', '' Flying Dutchman'' (Nominated for Achievement in Opera Award, Theatre Awards UK 2013), ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'' and '' The Turn of the Screw''. In August 2014 his production of '' The Turn of the Screw'' premiered at

Novaya Opera Theatre The Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow (russian: Новая Опера) (''novaya'' means "new") is a theatre in Moscow, located at 3 Karetny Ryad. It was founded in 1991 by Russian conductor Yevgeny Kolobov and then Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhk ...

, Moscow. His production of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''

Noye's Fludde ''Noye's Fludde'' is a one-act opera by the British composer Benjamin Britten, intended primarily for amateur performers, particularly children. First performed on 18 June 1958 at that year's Aldeburgh Festival, it is based on the 15th-century ...

'' for Northern Ireland Opera was performed at the Beijing Music Festival in October 2012, the Chinese premiere of the piece.. He has also directed productions for the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

, Aldeburgh Music,

Early Opera Company The Early Opera Company is a British ensemble dedicated to the performance of baroque operas using period instruments. It was founded in 1994 by Christian Curnyn. Handel's operas feature prominently in its repertoire, and the Company has given no ...

, Opera North,

Nederlandse Reisopera The Nederlandse Reisopera (formerly Nationale Reisopera) is a Dutch opera company based in Enschede, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the company performs an annual season of fully staged operas. The organization regularly tours their productions, and ...

Holland,

Pimlico Opera Pimlico Opera is an opera company and registered charity founded in 1987 by Wasfi Kani. The company aims to use participation in opera to advance personal developmentparticularly with younger people and to engender a sense of community. The most ...

Nevill Holt Opera Nevill Holt Opera is an arts festival at the end of June and beginning of July that is held at Nevill Holt Hall in Leicestershire, the home of Carphone Warehouse co-founder David Ross. History Nevill Holt Opera launched its first independent s ...

and Scottish Opera, and directed ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' at

Bergen National Opera Bergen National Opera ( no, Bergen Nasjonale Opera, links=no) in Bergen, Norway, originally called ''Den Nye Opera'' (the new opera) is a foundation established in 2005 by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Den Nationale Scene, Grieghallen and the ...

in spring 2015. In 2012, Mears was nominated for an Achievement in Opera award at the Theatre Awards UK, and in 2013, in the Best Newcomer category at the

International Opera Awards The International Opera Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring excellence in opera around the world. Origins The International Opera Awards was founded in 2013 by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman, philanthropist and supporter of opera, and ...

Royal Opera

On 12 September 2016 Mears was announced as the new Director of Opera at

The Royal Opera The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

, succeeding

Kasper Holten Kasper Holten (born 29 March 1973) is a Danish stage director. From 2011 until 2017 he was Director of Opera for the Royal Opera House in London. He is Vice President of the Board of the European Academy of Music Theatre. Career Born in Copenhage ...

who left the post on 11 March 2017.Royal Opera House website
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References

Living people British opera directors Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-bio-stub