news home news gallery biography resume teaching contact Così fan tutte Ben will return to beautiful Bozeman, Montana this October to direct his third production for Intermountain Opera. The Turn of the Screw Ben is thrilled to be directing a new production of Britten's classic ghost story as the mainstage feature of the 2012-2013 Baldwin Wallace University Opera Season. Guest Faculty at University of Cincinnati-CCM In early August 2012, Ben will serve as a faculty member for a new, three-week masterclass on conducting Mozart's operas. This session is led by Mark Gibson and features faculty from the Metropolitan Opera and Washington National Opera. Return to the Kennedy Center Ben is currently the assistant director of a new production of Verdi's early triumph, Nabucco, at Washington National Opera. Eight performances at the Kennedy Center Opera House will run through May 21, 2012. A new production of Don Giovanni Ben's inaugural production at Baldwin-Wallace College was Mozart's masterpiece, Don Giovanni. Five performances by two outstanding casts took place in early February, 2012.
A new reduction of The Mikado Ben created and directed a new production of Gilbert and Sullivan's enduring classic. This seventy-minute, no-chorus version was performed by students and faculty of Baldwin-Wallace College to three capacity-plus crowds in October 2011. CCM Spoleto July-August 2011 In the summer
of 2011, Ben returned to the faculty of CCM Spoleto where he taught and directed in the festival's studio program.
Il barbiere di Siviglia finishes successful run
Ben's first production of of Rossini's
masterpiece played to three boisterous and effusive audiences in May 2011. See pictures here. Ben enjoyed a very successful collaboration with set designer Carey Wong
in an exciting double bill for Tacoma Opera. See pictures of Pagliacci
and Trouble
in Tahiti. Ben Smith named Director of Opera
In addition to his professional directing, Ben will now be
teaching and
A thankful goodbye to Seattle Opera April 2010 Teaching in Spoleto, Italy July and August 2010 This summer Ben is thrilled to join the faculty at the Opera Theater of Spoleto. He will teach acting, give masterclasses and direct a scenes program as well as continuing his tireless research on the great food and wines of his favorite place on earth. Così fan tutte finishes successful run November 2009 Ben's
new production for Seattle Opera's Young Artist Program played to five sold-out
audiences around Washington State including a standing-room-only evening at
Benaroya Hall in Seattle. See the pictures here. Teaching young directors in Montana In August 2009, Ben will travel to Montana to join the faculty at the Venture Theatre'sSummer Theatre School. He will spend two weeks teaching masterclasses and guiding young directors through scenes from Anon(ymous) by Naomi Iizuka. Returning to Seattle Opera and Washington National Opera Ben has been re-engaged by Seattle Opera as their Resident Assistant Director for the 2009-2010 season. He will work on productions of La traviata, Il trovatore, and Falstaff as well as Ariadne auf Naxos for the young artist program. In April of 2010 he will return to Washington National Opera where he will be the Assistant Director for their season-closing production of Hamlet directed by Thaddeus Strassberger and conducted by Plácido Domingo. La bohème May, 2009 Ben recently returned from directing his first
production of Puccini's La bohème at the Intermountain
Opera Association in Bozeman, Montana. The production,
sung by a wonderful cast of rising American artists, drew three large and
enthusiastic houses. See the pictures here. |