Anne Manson

Hailed by The New York Times as “the conductor of choice for opera” and singled out by Opera News as part of “Opera’s Next Wave,” Anne Manson has come to the forefront as one of the most exciting interpreters of opera in America today. Of her recent performance in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites at The Juilliard School, the New York Daily News reported that Manson’s “magnificent” conducting delivered ”one of the most thrilling musical experiences I’ve ever had.” Manson conducted and recorded Philip Glass’ Orphée for Portland Opera, where she has also helmed productions of Madama Butterfly and Glass’s Galileo Galilei. Other recent opera projects include Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel for Minnesota Opera, Janáček’s Katya Kabanova at Spoleto Festival, Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Canadian Opera Company, Barber’s Vanessa for New York City Opera, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda and the U.S. premiere of Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio at Minnesota Opera; Mozart’s Così fan tutte at San Francisco Opera; and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers, Ned Rorem’s Our Town, and the U.S. premiere of Peter Maxwell-Davies’ Kommilitonen!, all at The Juilliard School. Manson has also conducted operas at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and the Salzburg Festival. She has been a regular mentor for the Washington National Opera’s acclaimed American Opera Initiative, with whom she conducted the premiere of Douglas Pew’s one-act opera, Penny, in 2015. This season, Manson conducts with Virginia Opera (Orphée aux enfers) and Minnesota Opera (Tosca).

Manson is the Music Director of Manitoba Chamber Orchestra. Her recording with the MCO of Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 3 and The Hours (arranged piano suite) was praised by Gramophone magazine “an absorbing and impressive performance [of] brilliant ease and assurance.” Her newest recording, Troubadour and the Nightingale, also with the MCO, features Isabel Bayrakdarian singing Ravel’s Kaddish and works of Serouj Kradjian and was nominated for a Juno award.