Joel Ivany
Joel Ivany is a Canadian stage director who came to international acclaim when placing 3rd in the prestigious European Opera Directing Prize. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Against the Grain Theatre, a Toronto based cutting-edge theatre collective which produces intimate, innovative theatre. His most recent work with Against the Grain Theatre involved writing a new translation and adaption of Le Nozze di Figaro in which he garnered a Dora Mavor Moore Award (Toronto Theatre Award) for Outstanding New Opera.
In 2013/14 he made his American debut with Minnesota Opera, directing Macbeth, he also directed a new production of Albert Herring at The University of Toronto, he directed Pelléas et Mélisande for Against the Grain Theatre which was performed in an outdoor courtyard and he also directed the world premiere of Marilyn Forever, a new opera by Gavin Bryars about Marilyn Monroe.
Notable past productions include: Les Contes D'Hoffmann (Edmonton Opera), Cosi fan Tutte (The Banff Centre), knotty together (Dublin Theatre Festival) and others.
Ivany apprenticed under such notable stage directors as Paul Curran, Thaddeus Strassberger, Robert Carsen and Peter Sellars. He holds a Bachelor of Musical Arts from Western University and
a diploma in Opera Directing from The University of Toronto. (August 2014)