Kevin Newbury bio

KEVIN NEWBURY THEATRE, OPERA & FILM DIRECTOR

Kevin Newbury is a theatre, opera, film, and event director based in New York City. Kevin has directed over sixty original productions and his work has been presented by many opera companies, festivals and symphonies including the Park Avenue Armory, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Barcelona Liceu, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera, The San Francisco Symphony, L'Opera de Montreal, The Prototype Festival, Urban Arias (DC), Bard Summerscape, Portland Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Cincinnati Opera, The Virginia Arts Festival and The Wexford Festival in Ireland, among many others.

Kevin is especially committed to developing and directing new work. He has directed over two dozen world premiere operas and plays, many of which were subsequently published or recorded. Recent world premiere highlights include Spears/Pierce's FELLOW TRAVELERS (Cincinnati Opera, 2017, upcoming: Prototype Festival/NYC and Lyric Opera of Chicago), Bates/Campbell's THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS (Santa Fe Opera, 2017, upcoming: Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera), Todd Almond's KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY (starring Almond and Courtney Love, seen at Prototype/NYC, American Repertory Theatre/Boston, CTG/LA, Arscht/Maimi), Spears/Vavrek's O COLUMBIA (Houston Grand Opera), Puts/Campbell's THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and Cuomo/Shanley's DOUBT (Minnesota Opera), and Lopez/Cruz's BEL CANTO (Lyric Opera of Chicago, broadcast on PBS' Great Performances and recently nominated for the 2016 International Opera Awards: Best World Premiere). Kevin has also directed the Park Avenue Armory Gala for three years running, featuring Patti LuPone, The Young Professionals, Sky Pony and Kimbra, and hundreds of musicians, performers and artists.

Kevin’s production of FELLOW TRAVELERS was named "One of the Best Classical Music Events of 2016" by The New York Times. Hi production of VIRGINIA for the

Wexford Opera Festival won the 2010 Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Opera Production and his production of OSCAR for Opera Philadelphia and Santa Fe Opera was nominated for Best World Premiere at the International Opera Awards in 2014. His production of NORMA at Canadian Opera Company won three Dora Awards (Best Costume Design, Best Set Design, Best Female Performance). His work has also been nominated for a Grammy Award (BERNSTEIN'S MASS with Marin Alsop, also named “one of the best events of the year” by The New York Times and The Washington Post), a Drama Desk Award (Best Actor: Vince Gatton, CANDY & DOROTHY) and the GLAAD Media Award (Winner: CANDY & DOROTHY, Nominated KISS AND CRY). Kevin's first two short films, MONSURA IS WAITING and STAG, have screened at a total of forty film festivals and have each won several festival awards. MONSURA IS WAITING is available on iTunes and STAG will be released in late 2016. His third, EPIPHANY V, a music-video collaboration with Jimmy Lopez and David Johnson, will be released in 2017.

Upcoming projects include the world premieres of Rodewald/Di Novelli's THE GOOD SWIMMER (BAM Next Wave Festival) and Fairouz/Hanif's BHUTTO (Pittsburgh Opera and Beth Morrison Projects), the international tour of the immersive Ukranian guerilla folk opera COUNTING SHEEP (also NYC), and a new Broadway musical based on the work of TEARS FOR FEARS. Upcoming film projects include the screen adaptation of CANDY & DOROTHY. Kevin was raised in Maine, graduated from Bowdoin College and spent a year abroad at Oxford University.