A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Richard Bado made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading Houston Grand Opera’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, the Tulsa Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera, and for the Aspen Music Festival, the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony and the Houston Ballet. He has also conducted the Robert Wilson production of Virgil Thomsen’s Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival. He has appeared regularly in recital with Renée Fleming and has also accompanied Cecilia Bartoli, Frederica von Stade, Denyce Graves, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, Ramón Vargas, Samuel Ramey and Nathan Gunn. Mr. Bado, who holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award, and West Virginia University, has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. Mr. Bado has served as Houston Grand Opera’s Chorus Master since 1988. This season marks Mr. Bado’s sixth year as Director of the Opera Studies Program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the International Vocal School in Moscow and has served on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Australia, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera and Wolf Trap Opera. Mr. Bado regularly judges for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and served as Houston Grand Opera’s Head of Music Staff for 14 seasons.
