- Lotfi Mansouri
Lotfollah “Lotfi” Mansouri (b.
15 June ,1929 ) is anIran ian-bornopera director and manager. He was an opera director from about 1960 onwards, and is most well-known for being the General Director of theCanadian Opera Company and of theSan Francisco Opera from 1988 through 2001. In 1992 he became a "Chevalier" of theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres , and the subject of a 1998 biography.Biography
Born in
Tehran ,Iran , Mansouri began his directorial career with a production of "Cosi fan tutte " atLos Angeles City College , and several musical theater productions at Marymount College. From 1960 to 1966, he worked as a resident stage director at theZurich Opera . In his first year there, he staged new productions of "Amahl and the Night Visitors ", "La traviata ", "Don Pasquale ", and "Samson et Dalila ". From 1966 through 1976 he worked as the head stage director at the Geneva Opera. Throughout this period, he occasionally worked at numerous U.S. opera houses, including theMetropolitan Opera and many smaller companies.Among his productions available on DVD, are "La fille du régiment" (with
Beverly Sills , 1974) and "L'africaine" (withShirley Verrett andPlácido Domingo , 1988).Canadian Opera Company
From 1971 through 1988 Mansouri worked as the general director of the
Canadian Opera Company inToronto . Mansouri introducedsupertitle s for the January 1983 staging of "Elektra", and this is generally regarded as the first use of such a translation system.San Francisco Opera
In 1988, Mansouri become the fourth general director of the San Francisco Opera, replacing
Terence A. McEwen .Mansouri lead the company in commissioning several new works which have received critical acclaim, including John Adams' "
The Death of Klinghoffer " (1992), Conrad Susa's "Dangerous Liaisons " (Fall 1994), Stewart Wallace's "Harvey Milk " (1996) (co-commissioned withHouston Grand Opera andNew York City Opera ), André Previn's "A Streetcar Named Desire" (Fall 1998), and Jake Heggie's "Dead Man Walking " (Fall 2000). This move has helped build the house's reputation as one of the leading innovators in the United States, a reputation which is still held today.Towards the end of the 2001 season, Mansouri announced his resignation and was succeeded by
Pamela Rosenberg , formerly of theStuttgart Opera .References
*cite book | last=Chatfield-Taylor | first=Joan | title=San Francisco Opera: The First Seventy-Five Years | location=San Francisco | publisher=Chronicle Books | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=neCwqtGHp1sC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=%22terence+a+mcewen%22&source=web&ots=ibxQjNKLzU&sig=OEoDS0StHfru08BILWdVOaWQ_bM | year=1997 | isbn=0811813681
*cite book | last=Chatfield-Taylor | first=Joan | coauthors= | title=An Operatic Odyssey: Lotfi Mansouri and San Francisco Opera | location=San Francisco | publisher=Performing Arts Network | year=1998 | oclc=44534470
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External links
* [http://www.lotfimansouri.com Lotfi Mansouri official website]
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