Meet the Artist: Garnett Bruce, Director

The Jun Kaneko designed production of Mozart's The Magic Flute requires a relatively large number of people to be on stage at one time. Sometimes, this happens with gigantic puppets, multiple dancers, and 12 foot tall costumes! With all that action onstage at one time, it is a fantastic challenge for a Stage Director.

Opera Omaha is pleased to welcome Garnett Bruce back to our company and city to meet that challenge. Mr. Bruce previously served as Opera Omaha's Artistic Adviser and Principal Stage Director. It will be wonderful to work with him again and to see what he has planned for this monumental production.

Garnett Bruce is hailed by the media for his "playful and humorous" interpretation of classic works (Timothy McDonald, Johnson County Sun, September 27, 2002) and for bringing "great imagination and theatrical coherence to his staging." (John W. Barker, The Daily, April 30, 2011) More media reviews and interviews are available on Mr. Bruce's website.

Please join us in welcoming Mr. Bruce back to Omaha as our Director for The Magic Flute. If you do not yet have your tickets, they are still available for our Friday, February 22, 7:30pm and Sunday, February 24, 2:00pm performances. Tickets can be purchased online through Ticket Omaha or by phone at 402-345-0606.

The information below is Garnett Bruce's biography submitted for publishing in our program. More information about Mr. Bruce is available through this link.

Garnett Bruce

Garnett Bruce - 2012

In the 2012/13 Season Garnett Bruce returns to Opera Omaha bringing the Jun Kaneko designed production of The Magic Flute which he also brings to Opera Carolina.  He returns to the Dallas Opera to stage Aida and Turandot, Austin Lyric Opera for I Pagliacci, and creates bel canto scenes for gala performances with Lyric Opera Baltimore. He continues his work as teacher and stage director at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

During the 2011/2012 season he staged Turandot for the opening of the San Francisco Opera's season as well as for the inaugural production for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City's Kaufmann Performing Arts Center. He returned to the Dallas Opera to stage Lucia di Lammermoor, followed by Don Pasquale for Opera Memphis, and his production of La Cenerentola for Madison Opera. 

Mr. Bruce’s rich body of work includes companies across the country such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Utah Symphony & Opera and his European opera debut staging Turandot for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He was the Artistic Adviser and Principal Stage Director for Opera Omaha from 2008-2011.