David Kneuss

The American director recently completed his tenure at the Metropolitan Opera, where he served as executive stage director for 25 years and directed nearly 100 productions. Kneuss has also directed for the opera companies of San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, Portland (Oregon), Bonn, Florence (Maggio Musicale Fiorentino), London (English National Opera), and the Hyogo Performing Arts Center (Nishinomya, Japan). His career-long association with Seiji Ozawa began with productions for the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and Carnegie Hall. In Japan he has directed more than 30 productions for Ozawa’s music festivals. He continues to create productions for the Ozawa Matsumoto Festival and the Ozawa Music Academy, where Kneuss is also artistic director. His production of La Damnation de Faust at Matsumoto Castle was the Saito Kinen Festival’s first outdoor production and was seen by an audience of 5,000. His Peter Grimes, a joint venture between the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and the Saito Kinen Festival, began at the Tanglewood Music Center (celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opera’s American premiere) and was featured in the film A Tale of Tanglewood. Kneuss returns to the Met next spring to direct Dialogues des Carmélites, which will be an HD presentation.

Lyric debut: Revival Director/ Idomeneo

Last updated: October 18, 2018