Frank Corsaro

Stage Directors

• Manager: Elizabeth Crittenden , Artistic Advisor & Consultant
  Management Territory: Worldwide

About

Since 1957, stage director Frank Corsaro has been associated with New York City Opera, where his productions include Korngold’s 'Die tote Stadt', Delius’s 'A Village Romeo and Juliet', Janâcek's 'The Makropolous Case' and 'The Cunning Little Vixen', and Purcell's 'Dido and Aeneas' (in collaboration with George Balanchine and Peter Martins). Other US productions include Delius's 'Fennimore and Gerda', Montemezzi's 'L'amore dei tre re', his own version of Stravinsky's 'A Soldier's Tale', and numerous standard repertory works. For the Deutsche Oper Berlin he directed Puccini's 'La fanciulla del West' . . . , for Glyndebourne, Prokofiev's 'Love for Three Oranges', a double bill of operas by Oliver Knussen (designed by Maurice Sendak), Ravel's 'L'heure espagnole' and 'L'enfant et les sortileges'. For the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Corsaro directed Handel's 'Rinaldo', the first production of Handel at the MET, which originated in Houston. Houston Grand Opera also saw the premiere of Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' with Maurice Sendak's designs. Other collaborations have been 'Hansel and Gretel', which was premiered at Juilliard and also was produced in Houston, Toronto, and Zurich. Mr. Corsaro’s original productions include 'Of Mice and Men' by Floyd, 'Summer and Smoke' by Hoiby, 'The Seagull' and, most recently, the world premiere of 'Frau Margot' at Fort Worth Opera with music by Thomas Pasatieri and a libretto by Mr. Corsaro. Recent seasons' productions included 'Rigoletto' and 'La traviata' in Houston, 'Faust' in Chicago, and 'Tosca' in Washington, D.C.

Recent engagements for Mr. Corsaro have included 'Faust' at the Lyric Opera of Chicago where, last season, he staged his highly successful production of 'La traviata' with Renée Fleming, a production first seen at Houston Grand Opera. An active master class teacher, Mr. Corsaro was recently at the Manhattan School of Music for “Acting Master Class for Singers.” Also, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Mr. Corsaro at the NEA Opera Honors in November 2009 along with other opera figures of international prominence.

Mr. Corsaro has authored four books: "Maverick", his own version of 'The Soldier’s Tale' by Stravinsky, "The Love for Three Oranges: The Glyndebourne Version" and a novel published in June of 2003, "Kunma." In addition, he has penned three libretti, the one-act opera 'Before Breakfast' based on the Eugene O’Neill play, with music by Thomas Pasatieri, 'Heloise and Abelard', with music by Stephen Paulus, and most recently 'Frau Margot' with music by Pasatieri. Mr. Corsaro’s other projects include involvement in the film "Secret," from his original screenplay, which is to be produced in Denmark.

While Artistic Director of the Julliard Opera Center with which he was associated since 1987, Mr. Corsaro’s productions there included Monteverdi's 'L'incoronazione di Poppea' (1994), Poulenc's 'La voix humaine' and 'Les mamelles de Tiresias' (1993), 'Fennimore and Gerda' (1992), 'A Celebration of 20th-Century Opera' (1992), 'Falstaff '(1991), 'Hugh the Drover' (1990), and 'A Celebration of Grand Opera' (1989). Mr. Corsaro was also the Artistic Director of the world-renowned Actor's Studio (1977-1985) in New York City.

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