Frances Rabalais is an opera director known for her highly emotional and evocative staging of classic operatic repertoire and new opera works alike. In 2018, her new production of Jeremy Howard Beck’s The Long Walk for Pittsburgh Opera was hailed as a “smart, chaotic success.” Her recent directing highlights include a production of The Magic Flute for North Carolina Opera (which included the company’s only encore on record), The Barber of Seville for Pensacola Opera and Brevard Music Festival, and an adaptation of The Elixir of Love set at a Brewery for Tri-Cities Opera. She has directed productions for New Orleans Opera, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Rice University, and Opera Omaha. Ms. Rabalais has been an assistant director at Houston Grand Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Colorado, Washington National Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, and Wolf Trap Opera. Ms. Rabalais is a certified Actor Combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors in three weapons and theatrical firearms. She also is working towards her certification as an intimacy director. During her free time in 2020, Ms. Rabalais wrote an opera libretto that is currently being developed for performance. Upcoming engagements include Macbeth with Resonance Works in May 2023.

For more information, visit www.francesrabalais.com.