Robert Swedberg

Robert Swedberg was General Director of Orlando Opera in Orlando, Florida, from 1990 to April, 2007. Prior to that, he held positions as General Director of the Syracuse Opera in New York, Manager and Artistic Director of the North Carolina Opera in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Director of Special Educational Projects for Seattle opera. He has also been Director of Opera Studio Programs at both the University of Central Florida and Syracuse University.  Mr. Swedberg became active as a stage director while on the staff of the prestigious Pacific Northwest Wagner Festival in Seattle Washington, where he was assistant director for Wagner’s Ring Cycle from 1978 to 1982. Since then, he has produced or directed more than 125 productions, and especially enjoys the challenge of the more unusual operatic repertoire, which has included new productions of Abduction from the Seraglio, The Tales of Hoffmann, The Coronation of Poppea, Don Pasquale, The Magic Flute, L’Enfant et les Sortileges, La Clemenza di Tito, H.M.S. Pinafore, Trial by Jury, and Gianni Schicchi, for several companies in the United States. He also produced and directed the double bill presentation of I Pagliacci and Carmina Burana for Orlando Opera in 2003, featuring choreographer Debra Brown and her troupe of Cirque du Soleil performers. That same year, he began to direct international productions, including The Magic Flute for both the Macau Music Festival, and the Beijing Music Festivals in China, La Sonnambula in Mallorca, Spain, and La Boheme in Hof, Bamberg, and Bayreuth, Germany. He directs two new productions this fall: Le Nozze di Figaro in September for Theater Pforzheim, Germany, and Don Giovanni in November for Orlando Opera. Mr. Swedberg was on the Board of Directors of OPERA America, the service organization for all opera companies in North America from 2002- 2007, and also hosts a weekly program: Opera with Robert Swedberg at 6:00 p.m. (Eastern) on 90.7 WMFE-FM, audio streamed at www.wmfe.org.