Robert Carsen

Robert Carsen, born in Canada, trained as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School before turning to stage direction, lighting and design. Over the course of his career, he has become one of the most sought-after opera directors worldwide, presenting productions at virtually every major opera house and festival. His work includes Aida, Falstaff and Der Rosenkavalier at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Peter Grimes, Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Don Giovanni, La fanciulla del West and Giorgio Battistelli’s CO2 at La Scala; Mefistofele, Eugene Onegin, Falstaff and Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera; and acclaimed stagings at the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra national de Paris, the Salzburg Festival, the Bregenzer Festspiele, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and many more. His extensive repertoire ranges from Monteverdi to contemporary opera, including world premieres such as Detlev Glanert’s Die Jüdin von Toledo at the Semperoper Dresden. Carsen’s versatility extends beyond opera to theatre and musicals. He has staged Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Comédie-Française, Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in New York, and Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan at the Bristol Old Vic. His musical theatre credits include Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Beautiful Game in London’s West End, Sunset Boulevard on a UK tour, as well as Candide, My Fair Lady and Singin’ in the Rain at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. In 2023 he was awarded both the Premio della Critica and Le Maschere del Teatro Italiano for his Oedipus trilogy at the Teatro Greco in Syracuse. Alongside his stage work, Carsen has also created and curated major exhibitions for institutions such as the Grand Palais, the Musée d’Orsay, the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the Musée Galliera in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Royal Academy in London. He conceived, directed and filmed Karl For Ever — a celebration of Karl Lagerfeld’s life — for Chanel and Fendi at the Grand Palais. His achievements have been recognized internationally: he is an Officier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Among numerous accolades, he received the International Opera Award as “Best Director” (2021), the Grand Prix de l’Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris (2023), the Premio Abbiati (five times), the Spanish Premio Ópera XXI, and three Prix du Syndicat français de la critique.