Anchorage Opera Hires New General Director
The leading professional performing arts company in Anchorage has a new General Director. The board of trustees of Anchorage Opera (AO) concluded a worldwide search to find a successor for the retiring Reed W. Smith by hiring Ben Robinson.
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Robinson has appeared on stage in AO productions of South Pacific, Macbeth, Tosca, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Magic Flute. He has also served as artistic director of Raylynmor Opera in New Hampshire and Opera Ithaca in New York. He was also interim artistic and executive director of Opera Steamboat in Colorado and managing director of Lyric Fest, Philadelphia’s art song concert series.
“The pool of candidates from across the United States and Europe reviewed to fill the position was very strong, but Ben stood out,” says Justin Mills, president of the AO board of trustees. “His experience as an administrator and artist, and his energy and passion for the artform and for Anchorage Opera, is outstanding. We look forward to working with Ben in this new chapter of our company’s history.”
Robinson’s recent projects include a soap-opera-inspired Così fan tutte with Cedar Rapids Opera, a new production of Nabucco for the inaugural Opera Ithaca Festival, a fashion world inspired production of La Cenerentola for Salt Marsh Opera, Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Ithaca, and the world premiere of Sally Lamb McCune’s We Wear the Sea Like a Coat with Ithaca College. Robinson’s film production of Hansel and Gretel, featuring his new English libretto, is included in the Opera Philadelphia streaming lineup for February 2023.
“The opportunity to lead a company with the legacy and artistic footprint of Anchorage Opera has been a career-long ambition,” says Robinson. “I’m looking forward to making a home with a company that always made me feel like a member of the family.”
Robinson expects to move to Anchorage in early June with his husband, bass-baritone Michael Scarcelle, who has also performed in Anchorage before.
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