Full Name
Frederic Wake-Walker
Job Title
Artistic Director
Company
Mahogany Opera
Speaker Bio
Frederic Wake-Walker is a director and producer of opera and contemporary music theatre, renowned for his groundbreaking work at major international opera houses and in unconventional spaces.
He was awarded Best Director at the inaugural Oper! Awards in 2019 for his productions of Peter Grimes at Oper Köln and Ariadne auf Naxos at La Scala, Milan. He has worked with world-renowned conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Robin Ticciati, Trevor Pinnock, Daniel Harding, Daniele Gatti. His films with the Deutsche-Symphonie Orchester were described by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as creating “a new artform.” Recent and upcoming work includes Ligeri‘s Le Grand Macabre at the Helsinki Festival and Berlin Musikfest, Die Frau ohne Schatten with the Cleveland Orchestra and Rusalka with the Czech Phil.
As founding Artistic Director of Mahogany Opera, Wake-Walker specialises in creating new, site-responsive work with a diverse range of composers and makers; redefining how and where opera is made and who it is for. Recent and current Mahogany shows include In the Belly of the Beast by Jacqueline de la Guerre and Toria Banks with Dunedin Consort and HERA, Ecstasy of the Virtues by Nwando Ebizie at Stone Nest and Opera North and A Christmas Miracle by Errollyn Wallen with Britten Pears Arts and Orkney Music and Culture.
Many of the projects with Mahogany bring professional and non-professional artists together in inclusive settings. He conceived the award-winning Snappy Operas programme which has engaged thousands of Primary School children across the UK and, increasingly, internationally.
As a founding member of the multi-disciplinary arts collective, Mica Moca, he has directed and curated large-scale events in forests, airports and warehouses in Berlin and Paris.
Frederic Wake-Walker’s practice explores the space between the real and the theatrical, the ancient and the new, the performer and the audience. He is admired for nurturing supportive and trusting environments that allow generosity, curiosity and creativity to flourish.
He was awarded Best Director at the inaugural Oper! Awards in 2019 for his productions of Peter Grimes at Oper Köln and Ariadne auf Naxos at La Scala, Milan. He has worked with world-renowned conductors such as Franz Welser-Möst, Robin Ticciati, Trevor Pinnock, Daniel Harding, Daniele Gatti. His films with the Deutsche-Symphonie Orchester were described by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung as creating “a new artform.” Recent and upcoming work includes Ligeri‘s Le Grand Macabre at the Helsinki Festival and Berlin Musikfest, Die Frau ohne Schatten with the Cleveland Orchestra and Rusalka with the Czech Phil.
As founding Artistic Director of Mahogany Opera, Wake-Walker specialises in creating new, site-responsive work with a diverse range of composers and makers; redefining how and where opera is made and who it is for. Recent and current Mahogany shows include In the Belly of the Beast by Jacqueline de la Guerre and Toria Banks with Dunedin Consort and HERA, Ecstasy of the Virtues by Nwando Ebizie at Stone Nest and Opera North and A Christmas Miracle by Errollyn Wallen with Britten Pears Arts and Orkney Music and Culture.
Many of the projects with Mahogany bring professional and non-professional artists together in inclusive settings. He conceived the award-winning Snappy Operas programme which has engaged thousands of Primary School children across the UK and, increasingly, internationally.
As a founding member of the multi-disciplinary arts collective, Mica Moca, he has directed and curated large-scale events in forests, airports and warehouses in Berlin and Paris.
Frederic Wake-Walker’s practice explores the space between the real and the theatrical, the ancient and the new, the performer and the audience. He is admired for nurturing supportive and trusting environments that allow generosity, curiosity and creativity to flourish.
Speaking At
