Michael Cavanagh

Michael Cavanagh has directed well over 100 productions at opera companies all over North America. A native of Winnipeg, he studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, Germany, apprenticed as a stage director with Vancouver Opera, and later served as artistic director of Edmonton Opera for four seasons. He is currently the Director/Producer in Residence at Opera on the Avalon, a young artist program in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He has written libretti for seven chamber operas that have been produced many times, and is noted for his role as dramaturg and original director of new works. He has become a regular at the San Francisco Opera; in 2012 he made a smash debut with his production of John Adams’ Nixon in China (a production he developed for Vancouver Opera as part of the 2010 Winter Olympics) and, just last season, directed a hugely successful new production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. He has also directed at the Royal Opera House – Covent Garden, Opera Philadelphia, L’Opéra de Montréal and many other companies. He recently remounted his Nixon in China in Dublin, Ireland, and will be returning to Europe next season for his debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm. Upcoming productions include return engagements at the opera companies of Vancouver and Winnipeg, and another new production, Lucia di Lammermoor (starring Diana Damrau), for San Francisco Opera.