Neil Armfield

Peter Grimes is Australian director Neil Armfield’s fourth Britten opera at HGO. He made his company debut in 2008 directing Britten’s Billy Budd and his most recent credit here is The Turn of the Screw, a production that originated at Opera Australia and has also been seen at Brisbane Opera. His critically-acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream had its premiere here in 2009 starring Laura Claycomb; it has since been seen at Canadian Opera Company, and will be presented by Lyric Opera of Chicago this season. He has directed Billy Budd at Opera Australia, English National Opera, Canadian Opera Company and Welsh National Opera—his production of that opera won won a Barclay’s Award and six Dora Mavor Awards. Other operatic credits include a new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro for West Australian Opera and Bliss by Brett Dean at Opera Australia in Melbourne and Sydney, and at the Edinburgh Festival. Mr. Armfield is an accomplished theater director, having recently directed Ionesco’s Exit the King on Broadway to critical acclaim. He has directed for all of Australia’s state theatre companies and for international opera companies such as Welsh National Opera, Zurich Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Mr. Armfield holds the title Officer of the Order of Australia, which he was given for his service to the arts. Further awards and honors include six Helpmann Awards at Dublin International Festival of the Arts for Cloudstreet and multiple Green Room Awards and Sydney Critics’ Circle Awards in the category of best director. Mr. Armfield is Artistic Director of Company B at the Belvoir Theatre in Surry Hills, Australia, where his most recent new production is the world premiere of Tommy Murphy’s play Gwen in Purgatory, a collaboration with La Boite Theatre Company. His production of Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos was presented by Boston Lyric Opera last spring, and will be seen at both Welsh National Opera and Canadian Opera Company this season.