Austin Opera Appoints Timothy Myers as Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director
Austin Opera General Director & CEO Annie Burridge announced today that Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Timothy Myers has extended his role with the company and will serve as the Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director beginning in the 2023-2024 Season. Myers has served as the company’s Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor since 2020 and served as Artistic Advisor from 2018-2020.
“I’m thrilled that Timothy’s role at Austin Opera continues to grow,” said Burridge. “He has been an invaluable partner over the past five years in our work to continuously build the quality and scope of our artistic offerings, and his ingenuity has been such an asset to the Austin Opera team as we chart an exciting future for opera in Austin.”
In his role as Music Director, Myers will continue to lead the Austin Opera Orchestra, with whom he has worked since his conducting debut with the company in 2019 (Silent Night). Since then, Myers has conducted nine works with the company, including An All-Star Concert with Isabel Leonard and Ryan Speedo Green which has aired 118 times nationwide on PBS; Puccini’s Tosca at the Circuit of the Americas; Bella Noche de Música at the Moody Amphitheater; and the company debuts of Bates/Campbell’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. He will also continue to serve as a key member of the company’s artistic planning team which includes General Director & CEO Annie Burridge, Chief Producing Officer Nathan DePoint, and Curator for Hispanic & Latinx Programming Claudia Chapa.
“It has been tremendously rewarding to work alongside Annie, Nate, Claudia, and the entire Austin Opera staff and board over the past five years as we challenge ourselves to curate seasons that celebrate the classics, share stories that are reflective of the community, and innovate the future of our art form,” says Myers. “I am thrilled to continue that work in this expanded role and to also deepen my relationship with the talented musicians of the Austin Opera Orchestra and Chorus. I believe greatly in the future of Austin Opera and look forward to advancing the company’s place amongst the rich arts and cultural offerings in the growing city of Austin and continuing to support our blossoming as a company with international impact. My wife Christina and I recently purchased a second home in Austin and look forward to spending even more time there with our family.
Austin Philanthropists Sarah and Ernest Butler have endowed Timothy Myers’ position as Music Director and have underwritten several of his conducting engagements with the company. “We have enjoyed witnessing Austin Opera’s exciting artistic trajectory in recent seasons with Annie and Timothy at the helm. Timothy’s contributions have made a notable mark on the company, including the rising excellence of the Austin Opera Orchestra. We’re proud to see this recognition in his new title and look forward to seeing him on the podium for all three productions next season.”
A protégé of Lorin Maazel, Myers’s operatic engagements have included the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Wexford Festival. As a symphonic conductor he has conducted orchestras across the globe including the American, Beijing NCPA, Chautauqua, Jerusalem, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland, Toledo, Tulsa, and Winston-Salem Symphony orchestras as well as the Brooklyn, Johannesburg, and Malaysian Philharmonic orchestras. Myers is also the host of the Listening on Purpose podcast, an exploration of listening and connection through the lenses of notable guests such as Seth Godin and Chip Conley, and in 2022 he completed the Program for Leadership Development (Executive MBA) at Harvard Business School.
Timothy Myers will lead all three of Austin Opera’s productions at the Long Center during the 2023- 2024 Season:
PAGLIACCI
Saturday, November 4, 2023 – 7:30 pm Sunday, November 5, 2023 – 2:00 pm
Music and Libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Designer Laura Fine Hawkes Lighting Designer Kathryn Eader
Conductor Timothy Myers Director Tara Faircloth
Cast
Canio Tonio Nedda Silvio Beppe
Jonathan Burton Anthony Clark Evans* Hailey Clark+
Ben Taylor*
Rodell Rosel*+
Featuring the Austin Opera Orchestra
Production and costumes owned by Utah Symphony and Opera
In Italian with projected English titles Approximately 75 minutes
CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA
Thursday, February 1, 2024 – 7:30 pm Saturday, February 3, 2024 – 7:30 pm Sunday, February 4, 2024 – 2:00 pm
Music by José ‘Pepe’ Martínez
Libretto by Leonard Foglia and José ‘Pepe’ Martínez Book by Leonard Foglia
Conductor Timothy Myers Director David Ramadés Toro Scenic & Costume Designer Arnulfo Maldonado Orchestration David Hanlon
Cast
Featuring Trío Chapultepec*: Vincent Pequeño, Israel Alcala, William Carlton Galvez, and the Austin Opera Orchestra
New co-production with Minnesota Opera
New orchestration by Austin Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Minnesota Opera In Spanish and English with projected English titles
Approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes in length
CARMEN
Thursday, May 2, 2024 – 7:30 pm Saturday, May 4, 2024 – 7:30 pm Sunday, May 5, 2024 – 2:00 pm
Music by Georges Bizet
Libretto by Henri Meilac and Ludovic Halévy
Conductor Timothy Myers Director Rebecca Herman
Cast
In French with projected English titles
Approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes in length, including one 20-minute intermission
Featuring the Austin Opera Orchestra
Scenery owned by Lyric Opera of Kansas City Costumes owned by Utah Symphony and Opera
In French with projected English titles
Long Center Season Debut * Role Debut +
About Austin Opera
Serving Central Texas since 1986, Austin Opera inspires audiences with its trademark blend of innovation and artistic excellence. With the leadership of General Director & CEO Annie Burridge and the Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director Timothy Myers, Austin Opera presents a curated season of grand opera productions at the Long Center, the crown jewel of Austin performing arts venues. Combining the finest American and international stars with the outstanding local talent of our Orchestra and Chorus, Austin Opera’s productions include accessible takes on classic operas as well as challenging new works that reinforce the continuing relevance of opera.
Opera ATX, powered by Austin Opera, brings groundbreaking new works, emerging artists, exciting composers, and dynamic directors to Austin. By tapping into the city’s live music DNA, Opera ATX reflects the spirit of the city and the pioneering image it is known for. The Company creates the conditions for operatic experiences completely new to Austin—and perhaps completely new to the art form—by exploring alternative venues and unique local partnerships. Driven by Austin Opera’s love of opera, love of audiences, and love of Austin, Opera ATX shows how Austin is shaping its opera company and inspiring innovative experiences.
Live from Indy Terrace, Austin Opera’s digital channel is the home of original content free to patrons and includes recitals, interviews, fan-favorite programs like Conductor Cues and Opera Overtures, and broadcasts of the company’s series Concerts at the Consulate. Concerts at the Consulate, programmed in partnership with the Consulate General of Mexico in Austin, spotlight Latinx composers and performers and celebrate Hispanic culture.
Austin Opera is also a force in hundreds of classrooms across Central Texas, nurturing the next generation of opera audiences through its award-winning education programs. Austin Opera works directly with educators, community leaders, students, and parents to make opera relevant, educational, and entertaining for students of all ages.
In 2020, Austin Opera was voted “Opera Company of the Year”—and Timothy Myers was named “Conductor of the Year”—in the BroadwayWorld Opera Awards.
To learn more about Austin Opera, visit austinopera.org or follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter at @austinopera.
