©Photo: Gabriel Muñoz

Francisco Negrin

Director

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His work is distinguished by faithfulness to the text and music, refracted through a thoroughly modern but elegant sensibility.

Francisco Negrin is a multi-discipline creative director working mostly on the opera stage but also in theatre and dance in a wide range of events, from pop concerts to museum openings, from the Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week to three major ice spectaculars. He writes and directs stadium shows such as a one-kilometer-wide epic ceremony for the Dubai World Cup, the opening ceremony of the Pan-American Games in Lima and the opening of the 2017 Asian Martial Arts Games, one of the largest ceremonies ever to be performed involving 6,000 performers.

Francisco Negrin has directed over 70 critically acclaimed opera productions on the leading stages of the world, many of which have been televised and released on DVD. The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Royal Danish Opera, Sydney Opera House, New York City Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opéra de Monte Carlo, Teatro Real, Dutch National Opera, San Francisco Opera and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées are just a few of the major companies where his work has been seen.

Negrin’s work is distinguished by a faithfulness to the culture or work he is presenting, refracted through a thoroughly modern but elegant sensibility, and always adapting to the matter at hand. His work contains a strongly visual and kinetic approach often described by the press as “cinematic”. He is admired by his creative partners as a director who has a deep understanding of the material and who truly collaborates to achieve better dramaturgy. This thoughtful but accessible approach has a great impact in changing audience perceptions of “difficult” or unknown pieces or subjects, often further enhanced through the use of dance and mixed media.

Opera projects in the 2022/23 season include Salome at Houston Grand Opera.

Trubaduren © kglteater

Trailer SALOME © ABAO-OLBE ópera de Bilbao

Mozart: Idomeneo at Aalto-Musiktheater, Essen © Francisco Negrin

Handel: Partenope (excerpt) © Decca Classics

Showreel

“Francisco Negrin’s production was effective in its creation of a world of castles, animals and the passing of the seasons The Catalan artists Playmodes created a light box of 155,000 LEDs, studded throughout Palle Steen Christensen’s sweepingly dramatic set and programmed by Bruno Poet and Matt Daw…The reception was raucous.”

(Opera Magazine, December 2019)

“Francisco Negrin’s quiet, unobtrusive staging which is touching and leaves little to be desired musically. This Idomeneo is one of the best that the Aalto Theatre has staged in recent years.”

(Online Musik Magazin, December 2014)

“Cheers and applause for Il Trovatore.”

(Corriere Adriatico, July 2013)

“Even in a timeless setting, the director Franciso Negrin manages to emphasize the gloomy and dark atmosphere that contains the story.”

(Cronache Maceratesi, July 2013)

“In his whimsical and moving new production for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the director Francisco Negrin takes Rinaldo far from the realm of Muslim-Christian conflict. Rinaldo was primarily meant to dazzle audiences. This Lyric Opera production does just that.”

(The New York Times, March 2012)