Artistic Director & Chief Creative Officer

James Darrah

James Darrah’s visually arresting work at the intersection of theater, opera and film has become known for a singular cinematic elegance that is “experimenting and forging a new art form” (The Wall Street Journal). His “filmic conception puts a fresh — even revelatory — gloss” (The New York Times) on both new works and pieces from within the operatic repertoire, pushing opera into new interdisciplinary territory and forging new dramatic frontiers. 

His recent work as a director, screenwriter, and GRAMMY award-nominated producer includes projects that continue to explore the merging of film, and television formats, and a re-definition of opera. He is the new Artistic Director and Chief Creative Officer of Long Beach Opera, is in collaboration with Martha Graham Dance Company for a three-year exploration of dance and opera, and was recently the Creative Director for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s digital content in 2020/21. Darrah was also Artistic Director of Opera Omaha’s ONE Festival from 2016-2021 where he was praised for "expanding the boundaries of the operatic form" (The Wall Street Journal) by establishing a first-of-its-kind residency for artists both within and adjacent to the operatic genre.

His track record developing and directing acclaimed premieres and newly staged productions includes the world premieres of Ellen Reid's Pulitzer Prize-winning opera p r i s m (LA Opera/Prototype Festival), Missy Mazzoli's operas Breaking the Waves (Opera Philadelphia, Prototype) and Proving Up (Opera Omaha, Miller Theater), Michael Tilson Thomas’ Four Preludes on Playthings on the Wind (SF Symphony, LA Phil, New World Symphony), Frank Zappa's full live score of 200 Motels (Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 10th Anniversary of Walt Disney Concert Hall with Esa-Pekka Salonen), The Brightness of Light by Kevin Puts with Reneé Fleming (Tanglewood/Boston Symphony Orchestra), The Bernstein Centennial for PBS (Tanglewood/BSO) and Academy Award-winner John Corigliano’s new opera The Lord of Cries (The Santa Fe Opera). He continues his focus on new works with the world premiere of Pulitzer finalist composer Kate Soper’s The Romance of the Rose for Long Beach Opera in 2023.

He has worked extensively and mentored with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, directing over eleven productions and visual concerts with him for the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the New World Symphony. With Opera Philadelphia he staged both opera productions and operatic films: he was the producer, production designer and screenwriter for the GRAMMY-nominated film adaptation of Soldier Songs by composer David T. Little and wrote, directed, and produced an original film adaptation of Poulenc’s La voix humaine. In 2021/22 he also completed two cinematic opera projects with Boston Lyric Opera: a stop motion animated feature-length film adaptation of Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher and the world premiere of Desert In starring singer Isabel Leonard: an original miniseries Darrah as directed and co-created alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Reid and television writer christopher oscar peña. He has crafted new productions of Philip Glass' Les enfants terribles (Opera Omaha, Long Beach Opera) and directed the US coastal premieres of Jennifer Higdon’s opera Cold Mountain (Music Academy of the West) and Jonathan Dove’s The Other Euridice (Bay Chamber Concerts) and Flight (Juilliard, Opera Omaha, UCLA).

Darrah’s music videos for opera artists including Joyce DiDonato, Missy Mazzoli, Ellen Reid and Jakub Józef Orliński are known for their “enigmatic twists” (NPR) and have been distributed by the Warner Music and Erato record labels as well as online with LA Opera. Additional stage work includes productions with the LA Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Salle Pleyel in Paris, The Barbican Centre, The Lucerne Festival, The Handel Festspiele in Karlsruhe, Germany, The Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, Boston Lyric Opera, The Getty Villa, Malibu, Human Resources LA, Trinity Wall Street’s 12th Night Festival, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and new work and tours in Berlin, Lisbon and São Paolo, Brazil.

He is committed to cultivating the next generation of performers and serves as Creative Producer of Special Projects for Music Academy of the West, where he was also Creative Director from 2017-2020. He was Artist in Residence and Creative Producer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2022, and is currently on the faculty of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television teaching production design. He trained at UCLA (MFA, 2010) and The Juilliard School, has been profiled in GQ-Europe, the Los Angeles Times, SF Classical Voice, ALTA Magazine, and ALL ARTS NY, is a winner of the national Princess Grace Award in Theater, a five-time nominee for productions in the International Opera Awards (including Best New Director), and has had two world premieres win the annual MCNA "Best New Opera" award.

He is a native of San Antonio, Texas and lives in Los Angeles, California.