ALLEN CHARLES KLEIN SCENIC DESIGNER ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT: CARMEN, 2012
Allen Charles Klein, a native New Yorker, studied painting and sculpture at the Art Students League and the High School of Music and Art. He completed his studies in theater design at Boston University under Horace Armistead and Raymond Sovey. He is the only American designer to have focused his career exclusively to the production of design for the opera stage, and together with Bliss Hebert as director, has created more than 70 new productions. His work has been seen in America in virtually every opera house, including San Francisco, Dallas, Santa Fe, Seattle, Portland, Houston, Baltimore, Miami, San Diego, Detroit, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Mexico City, and the Metropolitan Opera. In Europe, Mr. Klein has designed productions for the Scottish Opera, Edinburgh Festival, Opera Northern Ireland, the Glyndebourne Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the Vienna Staatsoper. His work has also been seen on the stages of the Schwetzingen Festival, Frankfurt Oper, Barcelona, Madrid, and at the Teatro alla Fenice in Venice. He has designed the world premieres of Floyds’ Of Mice and Men and The Passion of Jonathan Wade, Villa-Lobos' Yerma, Thomas Pasatieris’ The Sea Gull, and John Eatons’ The Tempest. Together with Bliss Hebert, Mr. Klein divides his time between homes in Miami and Ribeauville, France.
ROBERT WIERZEL LIGHTING DESIGNER
ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT: LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, 2011 Robert Wierzel has worked in opera, theater, dance, museums, and contemporary music. Opera credits include productions with the opera companies of Paris Garnier, Tokyo, Toronto, Bergen, Norway, Glimmerglass Festival, Seattle, Boston Lyric, Minnesota, San Francisco, Houston, Virginia, Chicago Lyric, Opera Theatre of Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, Wolf Trap, NYCO, and San Diego. His dance work includes 33 years with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Broadway credits include Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill starring Audra McDonald; Fela! (Tony Award nomination), and David Copperfield’s Broadway debut, Dreams and Nightmares. Off-Broadway includes productions with the NYSF/Public Theatre, The Signature Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Playwrights Horizons. Robert’s extensive regional theatre work includes productions at the Alliance Theatre Company (Atlanta); Goodman Theatre; A.C.T. San Francisco; Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.), Center Stage, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Shakespeare Theatre (Washington, D.C.); Hartford Stage; Long Wharf Theatre; The Guthrie; Mark Taper Forum; Actors Theatre Louisville, and The Old Globe. He is adjunct faculty at N.Y.U.’s Tisch School and a guest lecturer at the Yale School of Drama. 17