Lydia Steier
Director
© Sandra Then
Lydia Steier, one of the most sought-after directors of her generation, is back at Oper Frankfurt, where she staged a Stravinsky / Tchaikovsky Oedipus Rex / Iolanta double bill, for the first new Aida for many years. Recent works directed by this American artist have included Don Carlos at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Die Frau ohne Schatten at the Baden-Baden Festival and Salome at the Opéra National de Paris, where she returns in 2024 for La vestale. She staged Candide at the Theater an der Wien this season. Since 2009 she has directed at houses including the Komische Oper and Staatsoper in Berlin, the Dresden and Hannover state operas, Opera Cologne, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Theater Basel, Los Angeles Opera and the New National Theatre in Tokyo. She opened the 2018 Salzburg Festival with a new Die Zauberflöte. Her production of Handel’s Jephtha was invited to the Wiener Festwochen. A passionate advocate of New Music she has developed works with the composers Michael Wertmüller, Dai Fujikura, Hans Thomalla and David T. Little and worked with Pascal Dusapin, Du Yun, Huang Rao and Dennis DeSantis. She was nominated for a FAUST Theatre Prize as »Best Director« twice: for Handel’s Saul (2012) and the first performances in Germany of Dusapin’s Perelà at the Staatstheater in Mainz (2015). Her interpretation of Stockhausen’s Donnerstag aus Licht at Theater Basel was voted »Performance of the Year« by Opernwelt magazine in 2016. She studied singing at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and direction at Carnegie Mellon University before moving to Germany on a Fulbright scholarship. She has taught at places including the University for Music and Theatre in Hamburg and Darmstädt’s holiday courses. Lydia Steier was Opera Director at the Theatre in Lucerne until 2022/23.