An internationally recognized director of opera and theater, Francesca Zambello has been artistic adviser for San Francisco Opera since 2006 and serves as general and artistic director of Glimmerglass Opera. She began her long association with the Company in 1983 as assistant stage director for Ariadne auf Naxos and has since been involved in nearly twenty productions here, including Boris Godunov, Anna Bolena, La Traviata, Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, Don Giovanni, the West Coast premiere of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince, and Porgy and Bess in addition to the first and second installments of her new Ring cycle—Das Rheingold (2008) and Die Walküre (2010). This summer’s performances at San Francisco Opera mark the premiere of Zambello’s new Ring production.
Zambello’s American debut took place at Houston Grand Opera with a production of Fidelio in 1984. She made her debut in Europe at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice with Beatrice di Tenda in 1987 and has since staged new productions at major theaters and opera houses in Europe and the United States. Collaborating with outstanding artists and promoting emerging talent, she takes a special interest in new music theater works, innovative productions and in producing theater and opera for wider audiences. Francesca Zambello holds the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her contribution to French culture and is a recipient of the Russian Federation's medal for service to culture. Other honors for her work include three Olivier Awards from the London Society of Theaters and two Evening Standard Awards for “Best Musical” and “Best Opera”; she has also received an Evening Standard Award for “Best Company Achievement.” The French Grand Prix des Critiques was awarded to her twice for her work at Paris Opera. Other awards include “Best Production” in Japan, the Palme d'Or in Germany, the Golden Mask in Russia, and the Helpmann Award in Australia. Zambello has developed the world premiere of Heart of a Soldier, composed by Christopher Theofanidis with a libretto by Donna Di Novelli, for San Francisco Opera and returns to direct the opera this fall.
Theater projects have included Showboat at Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall; the musical Rebecca for Vienna's Raimund Theater; Tibet Through the Red Box, a play by David Henry Hwang for the Seattle Children's Theatre; The Little Prince with Oscar-winning composer Rachel Portman; and Napoleon in London’s West End. Other works have included a film of Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors for BBC Television, as well as a new film for the BBC, Sony and PBS of The Little Prince, and West Side Story for the floating stage in Bregenz. Zambello recently directed The Little Mermaid for Disney on Broadway and The Little House on the Prairie, by Rachel Portman and Rachel Sheinkin, which recently finished a national tour.
An American who grew up in Europe, Zambello speaks French, Italian, German and Russian. She attended Moscow University in 1976 and graduated from Colgate University. She began her career as an assistant director to the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, and from 1984 to 1991 she was the artistic director of the Skylight Music Theater. She has been a guest lecturer at Harvard and Juilliard, and she is an adjunct professor at Yale.