A list of 100 operas off the top of my head that I would love to direct. I’m sure there are others that I’ve forgotten, but these ones jump out at me! From it you get the gist of where my principal interests are, even if the specific piece isn’t listed here - German, Slavic, and French repertoire, 18th and early 20th century, with a few pieces from other places and times as well (Bel Canto, late Verdi, some British and American operas etc.). Overall, my favourite opera composers are: Mozart, Strauss, Janacek, Rameau, and Schoeck. As you will see as you read down the list, a lot of my favourites are somewhat off the beaten track, alongside the evergreen masterpieces that are staged more often. Most are pieces that are superb musically and dramatically, others are simply wondrous scores, that need a bit of careful thought and love on the dramaturgical side! I have also devised several shows using music that I love, and another interest is staging and developing new work and helping composers and librettists find a shape for their projects - obviously I can’t list as yet uncomposed works here!
Semi staging, full staging, scenes etc. I would jump at the chance to work on any of these. :) The order is vaguely by period and region, not preference! (I’ll update it regularly as I think of more).
Monteverdi - L'incoronazione di Poppea
Purcell - Dido and Aeneas
Rameau - Castor et Pollux
Rameau - Dardanus
Rameau - Hippolyte et Aricie
Rameau - Les Boreades
Rameau - Pygmalion
Rameau - Nelée et Myrthis
Mouret - Les amours de Ragonde
Handel - Alcina
Handel - Orlando
Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro
Mozart - Don Giovanni
Mozart - Cosi Fan Tutte
Mozart - Die Zauberflöte
Wagner - Lohengrin
Wagner - Die Meistersinger
Wagner - Das Rheingold
Wagner - Die Walküre
Wagner - Siegfried
Wagner - Götterdämmerung
Humperdinck - Hansel und Gretel
Strauss - Salome
Strauss - Elektra
Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier
Strauss - Ariadne auf Naxos
Strauss - Die Frau Ohne Schatten
Strauss - Intermezzo
Strauss - Die Agyptische Helena
Strauss - Arabella
Strauss - Die Schweigsame Frau
Strauss - Daphne
Strauss - Capriccio
Berg - Wozzeck
Schoeck - Venus
Schoeck - Penthesilea
Schoeck - Massimilla Doni
Schoeck - Das Schloss Durand
Schoeck - Vom Fischer un syner Fru
Schoeck - Don Ranudo
Schoeck - Das Wandbild
Korngold - Violanta
Korngold - Die Tote Stadt
Korngold - Das Wunder Der Heliane
Korngold - Die Kathrin
Schrecker - Der Ferne Klang
Schrecker - Die Gezeichneten
Goldschmidt - Der Gewaltige Hahnrei
Goldschmidt - Beatrice Cenci
Von Schillings - Mona Lisa
Zemlinsky - Der Zwerg
Zemlinsky - Der König Kandaules
Pfitzner - Palestrina
Braunfels - Die Vögel
Busoni - Doktor Faustus
Hindemith - Mathis der Maler
Hindemith - Die Harmonie der Welt
Ullmann - Der Kaiser von Atlantis
Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin
Dvorak - Rusalka
Weinberger - Švanda dudák (Schwanda the Bagpiper)
Janacek - Sarka
Janacek - Jenufa
Janacek - Osud
Janacek - The Cunning Little Vixen
Janacek - Katya Kabanova
Janacek - The Makropulos case
Janacek - From the House of the Dead
Bartok - Bluebeard’s Castle
Stravinsky - The Rake’s Progress
Barber - A Hand of Bridge
Barber - Vanessa
Barber - Antony and Cleopatra
Bernstein - Candide
Hermann - Wuthering Heights
Previn - A Streetcar Named Desire
Holst - The Perfect Fool
Holst - Savitri
Walton - Troilus and Cressida
Britten - Peter Grimes
Britten - Gloriana
Britten - Curlew River
Rossini - Armida
Rossini - La Cenerentola
Bellini - Il Pirata
Donizetti - L’Elisir D’amore
Donizetti - Maria Stuarda
Donizetti - Lucrezia Borgia
Cherubini - Medea
Verdi - La Traviata
Verdi - Otello
Verdi - Requiem
Berlioz - Les Troyens
Berlioz - Beatrice et Benedict
Bizet - Carmen
Massenet - Herodiade
Massenet - Manon
Massenet - Thais
Debussy - Pelleas et Melisande
Ravel - L’heure espagnole
Boulanger (Lili) - Faust et Helene