JOSEPH MECHAVICH
PIEDMONT OPERA'S INTERIM ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Meet The Maestro
American conductor Joseph Mechavich has established a leading position on the modern music podium with breakthrough productions of contemporary opera such as Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, Moby-Dick, Great Scott, If I Were You, Out of Darkness: Two Remain, Before It All Goes Dark, and Three Decembers; and Carlisle Floyd's Susannah, Cold Sassy Tree, Of Mice and Men, and Wuthering Heights, among others. Mechavich has also conducted Perla's An American Dream, Puts' Silent Night, Bohmler's Riders of the Purple Sage, and Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire.
Recent highlights include La Bohème and Werther at Florida Grand Opera, Lucia du Lammermoor at New Orleans Opera, Albert Herring for the University of Maryland, Florencia en el Amazonas for North Carolina Opera, as well as Flight, Turn of the Screw, Carmen, and The ThreePenny Opera at Brevard Music Festival.
Past international engagements include Porgy & Bess at Deutsche Oper Berlin/Cape Town Opera, Silent Night at Canada's Calgary Opera, and Nixon in China for a co-production between Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra/New Zealand Opera.
He can also be found conducting much of the standard repertoire in leading U.S. opera houses. Recent highlights include Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Washington National Opera and Minnesota Opera, Everest with Austin Opera, Cavalleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci with Madison Opera, Eugene Onegin with the Curtis Institute of Music, and Ariadne auf Naxos, Macbeth, and Madama Butterfly with Kentucky Opera.
Read the official Piedmont Opera press release here.
Florida Grand Opera’s production of Werther, the Miami Herald praised Mechavich’s artistry, stating “an astute conductor realizes that Massenet’s music must be as passionate and expressive as the action on stage.”
"American conductor Joseph Mechavich is renowned for his passion and commitment to excellence in opera. His uncanny ability to elicit sensitive interpretations in myriad styles has established him as one of the most sought after maestros in the U.S."
Opera Sense
"The accompaniment of Joseph Mechavich’s brilliant orchestral direction, along with scenic design by David P. Gordon (courtesy of Sarasota Opera), costumes by Howard Tsvi Kaplan, and Matt Cooksey’s stage direction, all the moving parts created a truly memorable opera experience."
Operawire
