Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize
The 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.
Teams of creative artists are invited biennially to devise production concepts for specific works from the inherited or American repertoire. Winning teams present their designs to producers throughout the industry in the Director-Designer Showcase at the national Opera Conference and in exhibitions at OPERA America’s National Opera Center.
The program is intended to bring new talent to the forefront and connect directors and designers early in their opera careers with those who are in a position to advance their work.
The Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize is supported by the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.
Prize Details
The 2024–2025 Director-Designer Prize has been awarded. The program will next be offered in 2026–2027.
The guidelines and worksheets below, from the 2024–2025 Prize, are provided for reference purposes only.
Guidelines & Worksheets
- 2024–2025 Guidelines (PDF)
- Intent to Apply Questions (PDF)
- Full Application Questions (PDF)
- Vectorworks, CAD, and Venue Specifications (ZIP)
For questions, contact us at Grants@operaamerica.org or 646.699.5236.
Meet the Recipients
2025 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
|
La hija de Rappaccini(Daniel Catán/Juan Tovar) |
Héctor Alvarez, director |
| La hija de Rappaccini (Daniel Catán/Juan Tovar) | Estefanía Fadul, director Tanya Orellana, scenic designer Christopher Vergara, costume designer Carolina Ortiz Herrera, lighting designer |
| Breaking the Waves (Missy Mazzoli/Royce Vavrek) | Marinette Gomez, director Hayley Wallenfeldt, set designer John Polles, costume designer Seojung Jang, lighting designer |
| La traviata(Giuseppe Verdi/Francesco Maria Piave) | Rebecca Miller Kratzer, director Tyler Herald, set designer Camilla Dely, costume designer Stacey Boggs, lighting designer Anisa Rose Threlkeld, dramaturg |
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.
2022 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| Fellow Travelers (Gregory Spears/Greg Pierce) | Ian Silverman, director James Rotondo, set designer Marcella Barbeau, lighting designer Travis Chinick, costume designer Nora Winsler, choreographer |
| Salome (Strauss/Lachmann) | Claire Choquette, director Josafath Reynoso, set designer Scott Hynes, lighting designer Hsiao-Wei Chen, costume designer Danielle Georgiou, choreographer |
| Salome (Strauss/Lachmann) | Alison Pogorelc, director Ember Streshinsky, set designer Morgan Williams, choreographer Zhang Yu, costume designer Avi Sheehan, lighting designer Camilla Tassi, projection/video designer |
| Sweeney Todd (Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler/Patrick Quentin) | Kimille Howard, director John D. Alexander, lighting designer Kimberly V. Powers, set designer Danielle Preston, costume designer |
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.
2021 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| The Central Park Five (Anthony Davis/Richard Wesley) | Bruno Baker, director Chantelle Good, choreography Frank J. Olivia, set design Sabrina Bianca Guillaume, costume design Ginevra Lombardo, lighting design |
| L’elisir d’amore (Donizetti/Romani) | Daniel Ellis, director Jaime Mejia, set design and projection design Angela M. Kahler, costume design Cheri Prough DeVol, lighting design |
| Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck/de’ Calzabigi) | Scout Davis, director Diggle, scenic/video design Amelia Bransky, costume design Jocelyn Girigorie, lighting design Melory Mirashrafi, dramaturg Eamon Foley, choreography |
| Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck/de’ Calzabigi) | Katherine Wilkinson, director Sarah Nietfeld, scenic design Maureen Freedman, costume design Christina Tang, lighting design Allison Plamondon, choreography |
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.
2019 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
|
The Little Prince (Rachel Portman) |
Noam Shapiro, director Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, scenic design Tamrin Goldberg, choreography Haydee Zelideth, costume design Reza Behjat, lighting design Yana Birÿkova, projection design |
|
María de Buenos Aires (Astor Piazzolla) Presentation | Article |
Victoria Crutchfield, director Bryce Cutler, scenic design Nina Bova, costume design Mary Ellen Stebbins, lighting design Kevan Loney, video design |
|
The Rape of Lucretia (Benjamin Britten) Presentation | Article |
Marcus Shields, director Ryan Howell, scenic and costume design Oliver Tidwell Littleton, lighting design |
|
Tosca (Giacomo Puccini) Presentation | Article |
Shadi Ghaheri, director and choreographer John Bondi-Ernoehazy, scenic design Mika Eubanks, costume design Samuel Chan, lighting design Yaara Bar, projection design |
Watch the 2019 Director-Designer Showcase presentations.
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.
2017 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| Glory Denied (Tom Cipullo) Presentation | Article |
Ashley Tata, director Stephan Moravski, scenic designer Liene Dobraja, costume designer Abigail Hoke-Brady, lighting designer Brad Peterson, projection and video designer |
| Der fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner) Presentation | Article |
Shannon Knox, director and scenographer Becky Heisler, lighting designer Gabrielle Heerschap, technical director Micaela Tobin, sound designer and composer |
| Der fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner) Presentation | Article |
Luke Harlan, director Alexander Woodward, scenic designer Fabian Fidel Aguilar, costume designer Andrew F. Griffin, lighting designer Rasean Davonte Johnson, projection designer |
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.
2015 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| Four Saints in Three Acts (Virgil Thomson/Gertrude Stein) Article |
Mary Birnbaum, director Grace Laubacher, set designer Moria Clinton, costume designer Anshuman Bhatia, lighting designer Adam Cates, choreographer |
| Lizzie Borden (Jack Beeson/Kenward Elmslie) | Mary Birnbaum, director Grace Laubacher, set designer Moria Clinton, costume designer Anshuman Bhatia, lighting designer Adam Cates, choreographer |
| Three Decembers (Jake Heggie/Gene Scheer) | Joshua Miller, director William Anderson, set designer Hope Bennett, costume designer Stephanie Busing, projection designer |
| The Cradle Will Rock (Marc Blitzstein) | Alison Moritz, director Charles Murdock Lucas, set designer Dina Perez, costume designer Kyle Grant, lighting designer |
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.
2013 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| Silent Night (Kevin Puts/Mark Campbell) | George Cederquist, director Marianna Csaszar, set and costume designer Sarah Hughey, lighting designer |
| Elmer Gantry (Robert Aldridge/Herschel Garfein) | Stephanie Havey, director Patrick Rizzotti, set designer Megan Spatz, costume designer Brandon Mitchell, lighting designer |
| The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht) | Walker Lewis, director David Meyer, set designer Grace Trimble, costume designer |
| Susannah (Carlisle Floyd) | Mo Zhou, director Tim Brown, set designer Lisa Loen, costume designer Yi Zhao, lighting designer |
2011 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| Hydrogen Jukebox (Philip Glass/Allen Ginsberg) | Rafael Gallegos, director Brett J. Banakis, set designer Sydney Maresca, costume designer Brett J. Banakis, lighting designer |
| Dead Man Walking (Jake Heggie/Terrence McNally) | Justin Johnson, director Damon Pelletier, set designer Haley Lieberman, costume designe |
| Arjuna's Dilemma (Douglas J. Cuomo/Text from the Bhagavad Gita) | Gian Marco Lo Forte, director and set designer Angela Wendt, costume designer Rocco D’Santi, lighting designer Philip Montana, choreographer Jane Catherine Shaw, mask design and puppets Mark Tambella, projected drawings and paintings |
| A Flowering Tree (John Adams/Peter Sellars) | Austin McCormick, director Zane Pihlstrom, set and costume designer Gina Scherr, lighting designer Hari Krishnan, choreographer |
2009 Recipients
| Team | Production |
|---|---|
| Mourning Becomes Electra (Marvin David Levy/Henry W. Butler) | Andrew Eggert, director Anka Lupes, set and costume designer Aaron Black, lighting designer |
| Florencia en el Amazonas (Daniel Catán/Marcela Fuentes-Berain) | Lawrence Edelson, director Martin T. Lopez, set and costume designer Josh Epstein, lighting designer Lauri Stallings, choreographer |
| Ainadamar (Osvaldo Golijov/David Henry Hwang) | Mike Donahue, director Anya Klepikov, set and costume designer Ji-Youn Chang, lighting designer Sara Erde, choreographer Daniel Vatsky, projection designer |
| Einstein on the Beach (Philip Glass/Robert Wilson) | Elise Sandell, director Liz Freese, set and costume designer Gordon W. Olson, lighting designer Keturah Stickann, choreographer |
Learn more about prize winners in the press release.