Grateful and beyond excited to bring SALOME to life in Seattle this fall! This is a total desert island opera for me, which I thought I would have to wait many more years for the chance to conduct… I’ve been absolutely loving immersing myself in the score for the last several months and I can’t wait to work with this incredible cast and team. @seattleopera@opus3artists
I’m excited to yet again return to @utahopera next season, this time for Fidelio! Spending so much time in the opera world these days there are some composers I find myself really missing, with Beethoven right at the top of the list…. Looking forward to reuniting again with the great @utahsymphony and @tarafaircloth and a wonderful cast featuring @limmiepulliam , @wendybrynsoprano , and @zacharynelson410 .
It feels like life is moving faster than ever… Closed Ghosts of Versailles this afternoon, now sitting at the airport heading to SLC to start rehearsals for Madama Butterfly tomorrow morning @utahsymphony@utahopera . I’m lucky to keep going back to the places I’ve lived, and especially lucky to make music with the incredible students at @shepherd_school . Now I can’t wait to see my friends in Utah! Time for some Puccini….
With composer John Corigliano and director Pat Racette after opening of John’s Ghosts of Versailles at @shepherd_school last night! Bravo and thanks to the cast, crew, orchestra, and entire production team for making this enormous and extraordinary production possible. Very lucky conductor…
A busy spring is already underway! I’m always happy to be back in Houston, my second home, this time for Ghosts of Versailles at @shepherd_school in a new production by Pat Racette. Then it’s straight to Salt Lake for Matthew Ozawa’s Madama Butterfly at @utahopera with my dear friends of the @utahsymphony . A whirlwind few months of amazing music!
After my first production at @sfopera of Carmen last fall, I can’t wait to continue my streak of operas set in Seville (good thing there are a lot of them) with the Barber of Seville next season! Really looking forward to being back at this fantastic company with not one but two extraordinary casts… @sfoperaorchestra@sfopera.chorus
Jury Announcement - Benjamin Manis, Conductor
“Maestro Benjamin Manis whips up the orchestra into furious climaxes or subtle love coos, always finding the correct balance between lust and love, leaving the artists on stage with just the right amount of breathing room before the next outburst.” — Houston Press
American conductor Benjamin Manis made his debut at San Francisco Opera in 2024 with Francesca Zambello’s production of Carmen. Later this season he returns to Utah Opera for Madame Butterfly and Rice University for The Ghosts of Versailles. Manis was formerly the Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony and Resident Conductor of Houston Grand Opera, where he led performances of Romeo et Juliette, Carmen, and Tosca. Other important recent debuts include the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Grand Teton Music Festival, where he was appointed Resident Conductor by Music Director Donald Runnicles. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Emily, and dog, Banjo.
#conductor #cellist #colburn #concertocompetition #competition #chicago
Celebrating my amazing wife @emilyresnik today and her promotion to Assistant Director at Northwestern Hillel!! So proud of you and so so well deserved. All on top of being the most supportive opera wife in the biz, making three (3!) separate trips to SF this fall… super woman. Love you so much ❤️❤️
