Images
Matthew ozawa
Director, Opera, Symphony
Download:
EPK
“The expansiveness of Matthew Ozawa’s stage direction works magic whether the performing space is full of people or restricted to the title characters.” – Jay Harvey Upstage
Matthew Ozawa is an artistic director, stage director, executive leader and educator who has firmly cemented himself as one of the preeminent creative forces in the opera world today. Ozawa is a master storyteller, whose “strikingly spare productions” (New York Times) are “a vivid demonstration of what opera is all about” (Opera News). His productions consistently “deliver brilliance on all fronts” (Chicago Tribune) and are filled with “breathtaking imagery” (Broadway World). Ozawa is the Founder and Artistic Director of Mozawa, a Chicago based incubator advancing collaborative art and artists. A proponent of arts education, Ozawa served three years as Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 2022, he was named the Chief Artistic Officer of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, a newly created role that leverages Ozawa’s expertise as both a creative and a leader in the arts.
Passionate about collaborative interdisciplinary performance, new work, and reigniting classics through “framing [that] is ingenious” (New Yorker), Ozawa’s “stylish” and “intelligent” productions have been seen at Brooklyn Academy of Music, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Siam, Asia Society, and Carnegie Hall, among many others.
In opera, Ozawa divides his time between directing classics, rarely performed works, world premieres and musical theater. Recent productions of classic as well as rarely performed repertory include Parsifal (San Francisco Opera), Orfeo (San Francisco Opera), Fidelio (San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company), Madama Butterfly (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera / Detroit Opera / Pittsburgh Opera / Utah Opera / Santa Fe Opera / Arizona Opera), Don Quichotte (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Romeo and Juliet (Minnesota Opera / Cincinnati Opera / San Diego Opera / Opera San Antonio / Kansas City Opera), and Nabucco (Lyric Opera of Chicago), among others.
Committed to new and modern work, recent new production highlights include Ruo’s Angel Island (BAM / Beth Morrison Projects), Ruo / Hwang’s An American Soldier (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Perla / Murphy’s An American Dream (Lyric Opera of Chicago), and Hanlon / Fleischmann’s After The Storm (Houston Grand Opera), among others. In addition, Ozawa’s interest in hybrid storytelling has led him to direct pieces of musical theater including A Little Night Music (Houston Grand Opera / Des Moines Metro Opera) and Sweeney Todd (Skylight Music Theater).
Ozawa’s skill at working across artistic boundaries has led him to collaborate with the Grammy award winning contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird (Hand Eye and Ghostlight), Alexa Grae / Jon Wes (music video – Sur La Nuit), and visual performance designer CandyStations (Hand Eye) among others.
From 2013-19, Ozawa founded and served as the Artistic Director of MOZAWA a non-profit committed to cross-cultural interdisciplinary work. Having incubated numerous new works and fostered over 150 artists from all over the world, Mozawa was featured in Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine, at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and by High Concept Laboratory.
As an educator, Ozawa taught movement, acting and directing to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance from 2017-2020. In addition, he has acted as lecturer for the School of Music at DePaul University, lecturer / stage director for the School of Music at North Park University, instructor for Music Academy of the West, and instructor for Rider University / Westminster Choir College.
Ozawa was raised in California followed by Singapore, and is a graduate of United World College of South East Asia and Oberlin Conservatory.
Press
The framing is ingenious
The framing is ingenious because it compensates for the opera’s misbegotten notions of Japan..….READ MORE…
Matthew ozawa
Director, Opera, Symphony
“The expansiveness of Matthew Ozawa’s stage direction works magic whether the performing space is full of people or restricted to the title characters.” – Jay Harvey Upstage
Matthew Ozawa is an artistic director, stage director, executive leader and educator who has firmly cemented himself as one of the preeminent creative forces in the opera world today. Ozawa is a master storyteller, whose “strikingly spare productions” (New York Times) are “a vivid demonstration of what opera is all about” (Opera News). His productions consistently “deliver brilliance on all fronts” (Chicago Tribune) and are filled with “breathtaking imagery” (Broadway World). Ozawa is the Founder and Artistic Director of Mozawa, a Chicago based incubator advancing collaborative art and artists. A proponent of arts education, Ozawa served three years as Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance. In 2022, he was named the Chief Artistic Officer of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, a newly created role that leverages Ozawa’s expertise as both a creative and a leader in the arts.
Passionate about collaborative interdisciplinary performance, new work, and reigniting classics through “framing [that] is ingenious” (New Yorker), Ozawa’s “stylish” and “intelligent” productions have been seen at Brooklyn Academy of Music, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera Siam, Asia Society, and Carnegie Hall, among many others.
In opera, Ozawa divides his time between directing classics, rarely performed works, world premieres and musical theater. Recent productions of classic as well as rarely performed repertory include Parsifal (San Francisco Opera), Orfeo (San Francisco Opera), Fidelio (San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company), Madama Butterfly (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera / Detroit Opera / Pittsburgh Opera / Utah Opera / Santa Fe Opera / Arizona Opera), Don Quichotte (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Romeo and Juliet (Minnesota Opera / Cincinnati Opera / San Diego Opera / Opera San Antonio / Kansas City Opera), and Nabucco (Lyric Opera of Chicago), among others.
Committed to new and modern work, recent new production highlights include Ruo’s Angel Island (BAM / Beth Morrison Projects), Ruo / Hwang’s An American Soldier (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Perla / Murphy’s An American Dream (Lyric Opera of Chicago), and Hanlon / Fleischmann’s After The Storm (Houston Grand Opera), among others. In addition, Ozawa’s interest in hybrid storytelling has led him to direct pieces of musical theater including A Little Night Music (Houston Grand Opera / Des Moines Metro Opera) and Sweeney Todd (Skylight Music Theater).
Ozawa’s skill at working across artistic boundaries has led him to collaborate with the Grammy award winning contemporary music ensemble Eighth Blackbird (Hand Eye and Ghostlight), Alexa Grae / Jon Wes (music video – Sur La Nuit), and visual performance designer CandyStations (Hand Eye) among others.
From 2013-19, Ozawa founded and served as the Artistic Director of MOZAWA a non-profit committed to cross-cultural interdisciplinary work. Having incubated numerous new works and fostered over 150 artists from all over the world, Mozawa was featured in Crain’s Chicago Business Magazine, at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and by High Concept Laboratory.
As an educator, Ozawa taught movement, acting and directing to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students at the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theatre & Dance from 2017-2020. In addition, he has acted as lecturer for the School of Music at DePaul University, lecturer / stage director for the School of Music at North Park University, instructor for Music Academy of the West, and instructor for Rider University / Westminster Choir College.
Ozawa was raised in California followed by Singapore, and is a graduate of United World College of South East Asia and Oberlin Conservatory.
Download:
EPK
Images
Press
The framing is ingenious
The framing is ingenious because it compensates for the opera’s misbegotten notions of Japan..….READ MORE…