Mary Birnbaum, whose stage direction the New York Times called “viscerally overwhelming” (Rape of Lucretia at Juilliard) and “genuinely insightful…vibrant” (The Classical Style at Carnegie Hall), has directed new productions of music theater internationally, from Taiwan (Otello) to Central America (L’elisir d’amore and La bohème at the National Theatre of Costa Rica and Querido Arte in Guatemala), Australia and Israel, and across the U.S. at Santa Fe Opera (La bohème), Opera Columbus, Virginia Arts Festival, Montclair Peak Performances, Bard, Ojai Festival, Seattle Opera, Boston Baroque and more. She recently directed the US premiere of Aaron Zigman & Mark Campbell’s Émigré at the New York Philharmonic as well as Rigoletto for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and her production of Chris Cerrone & Stephanie Fleischmann’s In a Grove was “the highlight of the Prototype Festival” and the “best of Classical 2025” (New York Times). In 2023, Birnbaum was named the new General & Artistic Director of Opera Saratoga where she directed Guys and Dolls and a new adaptation of La Vie parisienne. Upcoming work includes The Real Housewives of New York: An Opera (NYC) and Happy End (Opera Saratoga and the Glimmerglass Festival.) She currently also serves as Dramatic Advisor for Master of Music and Graduate Diploma students at The Juilliard School and teaches at the Lindemann program at the Met. www.marybirnbaum.com