GoDirect - Marcelo Lombardero

Marcelo Lombardero is one of the leading opera stage directors in Latin America, with a career spanning more than three decades and combining extensive artistic experience with a distinguished record in opera management and cultural leadership.

Following an international career as a baritone in Europe and the Americas, he devoted himself entirely to stage directing, quickly establishing a reputation for productions of strong dramatic coherence, psychological depth and visual sophistication.

His repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to contemporary opera, with particular recognition for his interpretations of works by Wagner, Britten, Berg, Strauss, Shostakovich, Weill, Poulenc, Zemlinsky, Ullmann and Krenek, alongside the core Italian, French and Czech repertoire.

Alongside his artistic career, he has served as Artistic Director of three of Latin America’s most important opera institutions, combining creative excellence with extensive experience in management, production and cultural leadership.

Today, Marcelo Lombardero is recognised not only as one of the leading stage directors in the region, but also as one of the most influential figures in the development and international projection of opera in Latin America.

He was Artistic Director of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where he also founded the Teatro Colón Chamber Opera. He subsequently served as Artistic Director of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata and, most recently, of the Compañía Nacional de Ópera de Bellas Artes in Mexico. He is a founding member of Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA), where he served as Vice President.

He has directed productions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Monaco, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain, the United States and Uruguay, at venues including Teatro Colón, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Seattle Opera, Greek National Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Mayor de Bogotá, Latvian National Opera, Teatro de la Zarzuela, Auditorio de Tenerife, Teatre Principal de Palma, Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Amazonas, Opéra de Nice, Teatr Wielki in Poznań and Nationaltheater München, among others. His work spans more than four centuries of opera, from Monteverdi to Missy Mazzoli.

His productions are characterised by solid dramaturgical construction, deep psychological realism and a contemporary visual language. They also reflect his close collaboration with conductors and performers, his extensive experience with large-scale productions and his longstanding commitment to contemporary opera.

Selected productions include:

Wagner (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, Der fliegende Holländer)
Verdi (Macbeth, Otello)
Mozart (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, La clemenza di Tito)
Puccini (La fanciulla del West, Tosca, Manon Lescaut)
Britten (Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw)
Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos)
Berg (Wozzeck)
Shostakovich (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk)
Stravinsky (The Rake’s Progress)
Poulenc (Dialogues des Carmélites)
Zemlinsky (Der König Kandaules)
Ullmann (Der Kaiser von Atlantis)
Krenek (Jonny spielt auf)
Weill (Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, Mahagonny Songspiel)
Berlioz (La damnation de Faust)
Beethoven (Fidelio)
Dvořák (Rusalka)
Handel (Alcina)
Manuel de Falla (La vida breve)
Piazzolla (María de Buenos Aires)
Thomas Adès (Powder Her Face)
Milhaud (Le pauvre matelot)
Janáček (Journal of One Who Disappeared)
Henze (El Cimarrón, Wundertheater)
Numerous contemporary operas (Ainadamar, Patagonia, Kassandra, Breaking the Waves, Avis de tempête).

He has also created Bromas y Lamentos, conceived and directed by Marcelo Lombardero, which premiered in Buenos Aires before touring Argentina, the United States and Mexico. His work in spoken theatre includes Taking Sides, La desobediencia de Marte and Nada más.

His work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the ACE Awards, Konex Awards (including the Konex Platinum Award), Teatro del Mundo Awards, APES Awards (Chile), Florencio Sánchez Awards (Uruguay), Lunas Awards (Mexico), the María Guerrero Award and Ópera XXI Awards (Spain), among other international distinctions for his work as a stage director and cultural leader.

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