Deborah Sanders

Arts Management

David Charles Abell

Conductor

Renowned for his widely varied repertoire, David Charles Abell’s projects in opera include Barrie Kosky’s production of Die Zauberflöte at Opera Philadelphia, Eugene Onegin at Hawaii Opera Theatre, La gazza ladra at Opera North (UK), Die Fledermaus at Cincinnati Opera, La bohème, Rigoletto and Carmen at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Kevin Puts’ acclaimed World War I opera Silent Night in Kansas City, Cincinnati and Detroit. He is particularly associated with two American masterpieces: Porgy and Bess (Cape Town, Cincinnati and Atlanta) and West Side Story (Glimmerglass, Kansas City, Opera Pacific, Opéra du Rhin, Bregenz Festival).

 

At London’s Royal Albert Hall, Abell conducted three productions for Raymond Gubbay, Ltd: Madama Butterfly, Carmen and Show Boat. In 2007, he led Menotti’s opera Maria Golovin and an all-Menotti concert at the Spoleto Festival, winning the Pegasus Prize for artistic excellence. He conducted his own critical edition of Kiss Me, Kate for different productions at Opera North and the Théâtre du Châtelet. In 2015, Abell made his debut with English National Opera conducting Sweeney Todd starring Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel. He returned to ENO in 2017 for an equally-acclaimed Carousel. He made his Opernhaus Zürich debut in 2018 with Sweeney Todd starring Angelika Kirchschlager and, again, Bryn Terfel.

Musically, it may indeed leave you giddy: the orchestra’s handling of the score, under conductor David Charles Abell, is glorious — delicate, sweeping, witty.

Financial Times, May 2017

Under the direction of David Charles Abell, the CSO offered a breathtaking ride into and through George Gershwin’s score and never allowed you to forget how very good they are. From the clangorous, percussive overture through gospel and folk-infused numbers all the way to the ringing finale, “Oh Lawd, I’m on my way,” they proved their intimate understanding of the form and flaunted the jazz opera idiom created by Gershwin. This is challenging music that requires a certain amount of swagger to pull off. And the CSO delivered on all counts.

Out and About Nashville, William Shutes, 28 July 2019

Argento Postcard from Morocco
Beethoven Fidelio
Bernstein Candide

Mass

On the Town

A Quiet Place

Trouble in Tahiti

West Side Story

Bizet Carmen
Bock Fiddler on the Roof
Britten Albert Herring

The Turn of the Screw

Copland The Second Hurricane
Donizetti Lucia di Lamermoor
Dove Tobias and the Angel
Floyd Susannah
Gay (Goberman) The Beggar’s Opera
Gershwin Porgy and Bess
Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel
Kern Show Boat
Lehar Die Lustige Wittwe
Leigh Man of La Mancha
Lloyd Webber Love Never Dies
Massenet Le jongleur de Notre Dame

Manon

Menotti Amahl and the Night Visitors

Maria Golovin

Mozart Don Giovanni

Le nozze di Figaro

Der Schauspieldirektor

Die Zauberflöte

Offenbach La vie Parisienne
Porter Anything Goes

Kiss Me, Kate

Portman The Little Prince

The Water Diviner’s Tale

Puccini La bohème

Gianni Schicchi

Madama Butterfly

Manon Lescaut

La rondine

Suor Angelica

Il tabarro

Tosca

Puts Silent Night
Rodgers Carousel

Oklahoma!

Rossini Il barbiere di Siviglia

La Cenerentola

La gazza ladra

Shire Take Flight
Sondheim Follies

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Into the Woods

Pacific Overtures

Sunday in the Park with George

Sweeney Todd

Stiles Peter Pan

The Three Musketeers

Strauss, Johann, Jr. Die Fledermaus
​Strauss, Richard Ariadne auf Naxos
Stravinsky The Rake’s Progress
Sullivan H. M. S. Pinafore

The Mikado

The Pirates of Penzance

Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin
Verdi Rigoletto

La traviata

Wagner Götterdämmerung: Act III
Weill Die Dreigroschenoper
Williams Napoleon

No operatic repertoire currently listed.

No concert repertoire currently listed.

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