About

Ian Silverman is a stage director for all forms of music theater, from opera to musical theater to operetta, and creates productions that highlight and shift character focus to enhance the story, connect to the audience, and deliver a vivid personal experience. His own performance background as a singing actor, coupled with a practical knowledge of the totality of stagecraft, make his empathy for the performers’ work central to his process. 

This Season

This Fall, Ian returns to the Houston Grand Opera to assist James Robinson on ll Trittico, a first for the company. He then heads to Opera Orlando to direct All is Calm. In the Spring, Ian makes his directing debut at Toledo Opera with L’elisir d’Amore as well as remounting Eric Sean Fogel’s Production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at San Antonio Opera. He also returns to South Florida where his operatic endeavors began to Associate Direct Turandot at Florida Grand Opera starring Roberto Alanga and Aleksandra Kursk.

Background

Ian has worked in all forms of music theater, from rare operettas to golden age musicals to large scale grand opera. In addition to standard repertoire, Ian has extensive experience with new work and has worked on eleven world premiere productions. Ian also has experience working for film as both a director and video editor. He served as the Associate Director for both The Knock produced by The Glimmerglass Festival as well as Everything for Dawn produced by Experiments in Opera. Both projects received awards nominations for their artistic excellence.

Ian has served on the directing staffs of Houston Grand Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Palm Beach Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Utah Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, and The Ohio Light Opera among others. He has also directed productions at Arizona Opera, Lakes Area Music Festival, Amarillo Opera, Youngstown State University, The Rochester Fringe Festival, Miami Children’s Chorus, and Eastman Opera Theater. 

Ian graduated from the Eastman School of Music with Master of Music Degree in Stage Directing and a Certificate in Arts Leadership in May 2020. During his time at Eastman he assistant directed opera productions, taught opera theater classes, and created his own productions. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, with degrees in both Classical Vocal Performance and Music Business. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Overall Outstanding Senior Award for the Frost School of Music. in 2022, Ian and his creative team were the winners of the Opera America Richard L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize for their production concept of Fellow Travelers.

PC: Michelle Chin