Stage Director Daniel Ellis Presented at National Conference

May, 2022,  the newest addition to the UGA Opera Theatre faculty, Daniel Ellis, Academic Professional in Opera and Theatre, presented at the Opera America Conference, held this year in Minneapolis, MN. He and his design team presented their concept for “L’elisir d’amore,” which earned them the Robert L.B. Tobin Director Designer Prize in 2021.

THE CONCEPT: Albert Lasker’s 1916 “Drink an orange!” campaign saved the dying orange industry using marketing tactics paralleled in L’elisir d’amore: Charismatic charlatans sow self-doubt and social insecurity while peddling products that engineer self-confidence and consumer dependency. Donizetti’s romantic opera puts a comedic spin on these serious themes, exploring how the naive are influenced by the self-serving. The creative team included: Daniel Ellis (director), Jaime Mejia (set/projection designer), Angela M. Kahler (costume designer), and Cheri Prough DeVol (lighting designer) are 2021 recipients of OPERA America’s Robert L. B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize, generously funded by the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.

OPERA America’s Robert L. B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize recognizes promising stage directors and designers for their ingenuity in bringing operatic works to life for contemporary audiences. Funding for this program is provided by the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.

Daniel attended with costume designer Angela Kahler, and lighting designer Cheri Prough DeVol, and HHSOM Director of Public Relations Shaun Baer. Daniel will be collaborating with Cheri again for Postcard from Morocco.

Watch video of the full presentation here