American director/designer/producer Nathan Troup maintains a body of work spanning standard operatic repertoire, new work premieres, uniquely curated site-specific projects, gala events, and distinct collaborations with multidisciplinary artists.
Current projects include A Winter’s Night (creator/produce) with Boston Lyric Opera and a three-part series of Benjamin Britten’s chamber works with Emmanuel Music. Troup’s production of Hoiby’s BON APPÉTIT! starring Joyce Castle for Des Moines Metro Opera, conceived and directed for live televised performance, earned a 2020 Regional Emmy Award for Best Arts & Entertainment feature for Iowa PBS. Recent notable engagements include EUGENE ONEGIN with Intermountain Opera Bozeman and Britten’s THE BEGGAR’S OPERA with Emmanuel Music. In March 2022, Troup directed performances of Wozzeck in concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall.
Troup made his European directorial debut in October 2017 at Ireland’s Wexford Festival with his acclaimed production of Rossini’s LA SCALA DI SETA described as “neatly dramatised” (Opera Today UK) and “especially well-crafted” (OperaWire). Additional career highlights include collaborations with Jessica Lang Dance on Pergolesi’s STABAT MATER for Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival and THE WANDERER for BAM’s NextWave Festival; Missy Mazzoli’s new opera PROVING UP, serving as associate director for the inaugural Opera Omaha ONE Festival and stage director for the New York premiere presented by the Miller Theater; installation artist Lee Mingwei’s SONIC BLOSSOM for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; visual performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s SONG for the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Troup’s work has garnered Best of Boston accolades (2009, 2014), a New England Independent Reviews Award nomination, and he was named Boston Lyric Opera’s Emerging Artist for the 2015-16; 2016-17 seasons.
Other notable engagements include Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Castleton Festival, and Des Moines Metro Opera where he served as a resident stage director for the company’s Apprentice Artist Program. Troup serves on the opera faculty of Boston University and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, the board of directors for Guerilla Opera, the directing staff of TEDxCambridge, the staging staff of the Los Angeles Opera and has spent the past decade as an outreach artist with Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble’s award-winning Outreach Program (“Outstanding Merit and Contribution” by Early Music America), creating access to collaborative musical experiences to neglected and incarcerated youth.
“The music and Troup’s staging combined in a chilling performance.”
“In a complete about-face, the same performers gave an intensely dramatic rendering of “Incantation Bowl” (Gene Scheer), enhanced by Nathan Troup’s twitchy, obsessive staging.” – Boston Musical Intelligencer
“[…]there are many wondrous moments throughout, such as the moment after Asakir disowns Alwan when she lies on ground and holds up the knife that killed her husband; the music awash in quarter tones, swirls eerily around her.” – David Weininger, The Boston Globe
“With all four cast members on stage, this climactic ending is nothing less than a dramatic tour-de-force.” – Laine Curtis, Boston Musical Intelligencer
“Troup creates gorgeous stage pictures for this opera, surprising given the small ensemble of characters. For instance, at the beginning of the opera, underneath tan and dark brown sheets lie the main characters of the opera stories, and the sheets are slowly pulled back to reveal them frozen like statues. The actors pose in dynamic and sharp positions, which indicate their characters perfectly without saying a word and create vivid stage pictures. Such excellent use of positive and negative space are subtle touches which are rarely utilized in stage direction for opera, putting Troup a notch above the rest in terms of practiced directing talent and keen eye for the stage.” – Brian Balduzzi, MyEntertainmentWorld.ca
“The stage direction under Nathan Troup was impressive; soloists, dancers, and chorus moved fluently and purposefully on stage, the action always aligned with the story.”
“The stage direction under Nathan Troup was impressive; soloists, dancers, and chorus moved fluently and purposefully on stage, the action always aligned with the story.” – Boston Musical Intelligencer
“Best of Boston 2009” – Boston Pheonix
“The Boston Conservatory, recognizing that Ravel’s operas are seldom heard in small theaters and are complicated to produce, has courageously mounted a double bill of these works, with conspicuous success in all dimensions. A double cast of singers, and a chorus and orchestra, have been assembled […]From a vocal standpoint, both performances were absolutely excellent. It would be hard to imagine more naturally expressive singing even from seasoned professionals, and all of these singers were students, undergraduate and graduate. The stage direction complemented the vocal gestures to best advantage as well.” – Boston Musical Intelligencer