Critically Acclaimed New Director of Opera UCLA Brings Bold Vision and Experimental Philosophy to Students
James Darrah, the GRAMMY Award-nominated director/producer of acclaimed and innovative opera and film productions will join The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music faculty in Fall 2024. Darrah will bring his groundbreaking approach to integrating opera, film, and digital technology to his role as professor of music and director of Opera UCLA, offering students distinctive artistic education and professional opportunities.
Darrah has directed operatic productions for some of the most notable arts organizations in the world. Since 2021 he has been the artistic director and chief creative officer of Long Beach Opera and will continue in that role after he takes his faculty appointment. He has directed productions for the LA Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Theater an der Wien, San Francisco Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival, Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon, and the Handel Festspiele in Karlsruhe, Germany among others. His impressive teaching experience includes serving as director of the Music Academy of the West from 2017-2023 and leading as a resident artist, director and creative producer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2022.
“James Darrah is one of the most exciting directors working in opera today,” said Eileen Strempel, inaugural dean of The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. “He makes bold statements with his lush and imaginative staging. He combines opera and various digital media with a futuristic vision. James is an inventive director and passionate educator, and we are thrilled that he will be joining the faculty.”
Darrah is a wide-ranging director, designer and producer, whether staging world premieres or reimagining the classics. Critics hailed his dramatic staging of Benjamin Britten’s “Peter Grimes” with the San Francisco Symphony (Michael Tilson Thomas conducting). He also directed and developed the world premiere of “p r i s m,” the Pulitzer-Prize winning opera from Ellen Reid, with the LA Opera and Prototype Festival in 2019. His production of a film version of David T. Little’s “Soldier Songs” for Opera Philadelphia earned him a GRAMMY Award nomination in 2021 for best opera recording.
“I’m honored to be joining The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music,” said Darrah. “The school has a strong reputation as a great opera training program. The distinguished faculty are known for their rigorous pedagogy and vocal training. Opera UCLA has all the resources of the School of Music and the collaboration with the School of Theater, Film and Television, and they stage top-notch productions. There are incredible opportunities to explore new kinds of multimedia and experimental opera.”
Darrah has frequently worked to reinvent opera in the age of digital technology. One of his most groundbreaking projects was “desert in,” a collaboration with composer Ellen Reid and playwright Christopher Oscar Peña. Commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera and produced with Long Beach Opera, “desert in” reconceived opera as a television miniseries in eight episodes. A finalist for Noteworthy Project at the 2022 Opera America Awards for Digital Excellence in Opera, “desert in” was met with great critical acclaim as “forging a new art form” (Wall Street Journal).
“James Darrah is one of the most creative forces in the world of opera today”, said James Bass, director of choral studies and chair of the music department. “He has been at the center of amazing productions all over the world, and we’ve been fortunate to be able to place some of our students in his productions at Long Beach Opera. We are ecstatic to have him here with us!”
In addition to his artistic leadership of Long Beach Opera, Darrah is also in demand as a freelance opera director, having recently served as the artistic director of the ONE Festival of Opera Omaha from 2014 through 2022 and the creative director of digital content for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from 2020 through 2021.
Darrah plans to apply his affinity for experimentation into his teaching at UCLA. “I’m looking forward to shaping a new generation of singers who think about opera in connection with social media, film, and television. I want our students to reach into new worlds and imagine new possibilities for the art form. The field of opera is rapidly changing and it’s important for our students to understand the full spectrum of how you build a career in opera in the twenty-first century.”
ABOUT THE UCLA HERB ALPERT SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music prepares students for twenty-first century music careers. Home to renowned musical scholars, music industry experts and world-class musicians, educators and composers within one institution, the school of music offers students an interdisciplinary education that prizes music performance and scholarship while also emphasizing active engagement in the greater Los Angeles community. Esteeming all musical traditions as vital expressions of an evolving global society, the school of music boasts over 40 musical ensembles performing music from around the world.
Founded in 2008 with a naming gift of $30 million from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the school of music was formally established as UCLA’s 12th professional school by the UC Regents in 2016. The school originally comprised the departments of ethnomusicology, music and musicology, and has since added interdisciplinary programs in global jazz studies and music industry, and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance. Herb Alpert School of Music graduates and faculty members are recipients of prestigious MacArthur fellowships, Grammy Awards, and Emmy Awards, and are leaders as composers, musicians, educators, scholars and innovators in the music industry. Learn more at www.schoolofmusic.ucla.edu.
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Contact
Russell Kelban
rkelban@schoolofmusic.ucla.edu
(310) 486-8953