Francesca Zambello has directed LA Opera productions of Les Troyens (1991), Florencia en el Amazonas (1997) and Billy Budd (2000). An internationally recognized director of opera and theater, Francesca Zambello's American debut took place at the Houston Grand Opera with a production of Fidelio in 1984. She debuted in Europe at Teatro La Fenice in Venice with Beatrice di Tenda in 1987 and has since staged new productions at major theaters and opera houses in Europe and the United States. She recently developed and directed the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis' Heart of a Soldier for the San Francisco Opera, where she served as Artistic Advisor from 2006 to 2011. Other recent opera projects have included the world premiere of An American Tragedy, Cyrano and Les Troyens for the Metropolitan Opera, Carmen and Don Giovanni at Covent Garden, Boris Godunov, War and Peace, Billy Budd and William Tell at the Paris Opera, and the Ring cycle for the San Francisco Opera. Recent theater projects have included Show Boat in London at the Royal Albert Hall; Napoleon in the West End; The Little Mermaid for Disney on Broadway, and Aladdin in Disneyland. She is the Artistic and General Director of Glimmerglass in Cooperstown, and was recently named Artistic Director to the Washington National Opera. (www.FrancescaZambello.com)