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 assistant directed La Bohème at Utah Opera as well as served as the Associate Director for Francesca Zambello’s production of The Sound of Music at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. This Spring, Ian returns to Palm Beach Opera to lead their Young Artist Residency Intensive as well as assist Omer Ben Seadia on Tosca and David Gately on Les Contes d’Hoffmann. He will also assist Francesca Zambello on The Sound of Music at the Houston Grand Opera in May. This summer, Ian returns to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to assist James Robinson on a New Production of Galileo Galilei as well as co-directing the CenterStage Scenes Concert. Ian and his design team was also chosen as one of the winners of Opera America's Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize for their production concept of Fellow Travelers. Their design is on display at the Opera America Headquarters in NYC until June 2024.

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, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Glimmerglass Festival, Palm Beach Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Utah Opera, Experiments in Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Naples, The Ohio Light Opera, OnSite Opera, and the Brevard Music Center among others. He has also directed productions at Arizona Opera, Lakes Area Music Festival, William Jewel College, Amarillo Opera, Youngstown State University, The Rochester Fringe Festival, Miami Children’s Chorus, and Eastman Opera Theater. 

He collaborates often with Papermoon Productions, a company focused on reducing waste in production by using recyclable materials. With Papermoon, Ian has directed a production of Werther at William Jewel College, and co-directed a production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Amarillo Opera.

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. 

PC: Michelle Chin