Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

David Paul is an award-winning director for opera, theater, and film.  Born in Germany and based in Brooklyn, his work incorporates material spanning five centuries and all genres, and strives to make performance a medium for direct, human communication, regardless of the platform. 

His work has been praised by the New York Times and Washington Post for its energy, humor, and emotional depth, and has been seen across four continents in five languages. As a director for opera, Paul is in high demand across the world.  Recent credits include productions for LA Opera (Salome), the Metropolitan Opera / Juilliard (Iphigenie en Aulide), Washington National Opera (An American Soldier, The Marriage of Figaro), North Carolina Opera (Il trovatore, Aida), Wolf Trap Opera (The Marriage of Figaro), Opera Saratoga (The Marriage of Figaro), and Music Academy of the West (The Rake's Progress, The Magic Flute, Cinderella, Carmen, The Bartered Bride).  On the theatrical stage, he has directed at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre Company (Julius Caesar, Hamlet), Alaska's Perseverance Theatre (Blood Wedding), Columbia University (The Seagull, Eurydice, The House of Blue Leaves), and served as Assistant Director on the Broadway production of Terrence McNally's Master Class. Driving innovation in the arts, Paul has been involved in several major genre-bending ventures.  He developed, wrote, and directed the film Dichterliebe: POETLOVE, a cinematic adaptation of classical songs from the 19th Century by Robert Schumann, winning awards from the Hong Kong Art House Film Festival, Geneva Film Festival, and IndieFest, and screening at festivals around the world. 

He also co-curated The Romeo and Juliet Project, a new retelling of the classic story through words, music, and dance, based on the various classic adaptations in different genres, which celebrated its triumphant premiere at the Chautauqua Institution during the 2013 season. 

Upcoming ventures include Opera in VR, a set of short films featuring operatic scenes shot in 360-degree virtual reality; AfterWARds, a 90-minute, 4-character reinvention of Mozart's Idomeneo;  The Baron, an adaptation of the life story of tennis legend Gottfried von Cramm; as well as various music-video related projects. Equally passionate about training the next generation of singing actors, Paul has rapidly gained recognition as one of his generation's most dynamic directors and acting teachers for young singers. 

He is on the faculty at the Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist Development Program, with productions at educational institutions including Boston University's Opera Institute The Marriage of Figaro), Juilliard (Il cambiale di Matrimonio, La scala di seta), Berlin Opera Academy (The Marriage of Figaro), the Tel Aviv Summer Opera Festival (The Bear), and Westminster Choir College (Iolanta, The Tales of Hoffmann, Così fan tutte, Il re pastore, Il trionfo del tempo). 

He has also given master classes in Japan, China, Israel, and the United States. David Paul studied acting and directing at Columbia University, and apprenticed with directors Robert Falls, Michael Kahn, and Stephen Wadsworth. 

Highlights of the 2017/18 season include debuts with Pittsburgh Opera and the Houston Grand Opera's Young Artist Program.