Biography
Patrick Summers has been a central figure at HGO for over 25 years, conducting a vast range of repertoire during his tenure. First appointed in 1998 as Music Director, he became Artistic and Music Director in 2011, tasked with elevating the company’s artistic quality. Highlights at HGO include Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, and Lohengrin; Verdi’s Requiem, Don Carlo, and La traviata; Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro; Britten’s Peter Grimes and Billy Budd; Handel’s Saul; Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Turandot; and premieres by Tarik O’Regan, André Previn, Christopher Theofanidis, Jake Heggie, Carlisle Floyd, Rachel Portman, Tod Machover, and Joel Thompson. He conducted Weinberg’s The Passenger at HGO and the Lincoln Center Festival. At the Metropolitan Opera, he has led Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodelinda, Salome, I puritani, and The Enchanted Island. He has enjoyed a long association with San Francisco Opera and was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal in 2015. Selected SFO highlights include A Streetcar Named Desire, Il trittico, Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking, and Guillaume Tell. He has appeared with the Bregenz Festival, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Australia, and guest-conducted orchestras including LA Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. He is Co-Director of the Aspen Opera Theater and Vocal Arts program with Renée Fleming. In 2026, Summers will step down from his current role at HGO, concluding a transformative chapter before assuming the role of Music Director Emeritus. His first novel and a volume of poetry were released in 2024.
HGO Repertoire
Conductor:
LA TRAVIATA 1998-99, 2002-03, 2011-12
RESURRECTION 1998-99 (World premiere)
THE ELIXIR OF LOVE 1999-2000
LITTLE WOMEN 1999-2000
COLD SASSY TREE 1999-2000 (World premiere)
NABUCCO 1999-2000
COSÌ FAN TUTTE 2000-01, 2014-15
DON CARLO 2000-01 / DON CARLOS 2011-12
FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS 2000-01, 2018-19
RIGOLETTO 2001-02, 2008-09, 2013-14
OF MICE AND MEN 2001-02
THE ABDUCTION FROM THE SERAGLIO 2001-02
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR 2002-03
THE MERRY WIDOW 2002-03
THE LITTLE PRINCE 2002-03 (World premiere)
JULIUS CAESAR 2003-04, 2017-18
THE END OF THE AFFAIR 2003-04 (World premiere)
TURANDOT 2003-04
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE 2003-04
MADAME BUTTERFLY 2004-05, 2010-11, 2023-24
IL TROVATORE 2004-05
IDOMENEO 2004-05
FALSTAFF 2004-05, 2023-24
HGO 50TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT 2004-05
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO 2005-06, 2022-23
RENÉE FLEMING HOLIDAY CONCERT 2005-06
DON PASQUALE 2005-06
MANON LESCAUT 2005-06
SIMON BOCCANEGRA 2006-07
DON GIOVANNI 2006-07
THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN 2006-07
A MASKED BALL 2007-08
THE REFUGE 2007-08 (World premiere – Mainstage and Miller Outdoor Theatre)
LAST ACTS (THREE DECEMBERS) 2007-08 (World premiere)
LA BOHÈME 2007-08
BILLY BUDD 2007-08
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 2008-09
CHORUS! 2008-09
A BRIEF ENCOUNTER 2008-09 (World premiere)
LOHENGRIN 2009-10
TOSCA 2009-10, 2015-16
THE TURN OF THE SCREW 2009-10
PETER GRIMES 2010-11
DEAD MAN WALKING 2010-11
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS 2010-11
MARY STUART 2011-12
SHOW BOAT 2012-13
TRISTAN AND ISOLDE 2012-13
IL TROVATORE 2012-13
THE PASSENGER 2013-14 (Mainstage and Park Avenue Armory, NYC)
DAS RHEINGOLD 2013-14
OTELLO 2013-14
HGO 60TH ANNIVERSARY GALA CONCERT 2014-15
DIE WALKÜRE 2014-15
THE PRINCE OF PLAYERS 2015-16 (World premiere)
SIEGFRIED 2015-16
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 2016-17 (World premiere)
VERDI’S REQUIEM MASS 2016-17
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG 2016-17
ELEKTRA 2017-18
NORMA 2017-18
HGO AND PLÁCIDO - COMING HOME! CONCERT 2018-19
THE FLYING DUTCHMAN 2018-19
THE PHOENIX APR-MAY 2018-19 (World premiere)
SAUL 2019-20
LA FAVORITE 2019-20
AIDA 2019-20
THE MAKING OF THE SNOWY DAY 2020-21 (Digital)
HANSEL AND GRETEL 2020-21 (Digital)
JEANINE DE BIQUE CONCERT 2020-21 (Digital)
AN EVENING WITH JONAS KAUFMANN 2021-22
THE SNOWY DAY 2021-22 (World premiere)
DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES 2021-22
CELEBRATING CARLISLE FLOYD 2021-22
ROMEO AND JULIET 2021-22
THE WRECKERS 2022-23
BREAKING THE WAVES 2024-25
HGO Recital Pianist:
ANDREW KENNEDY PATRON CIRCLE RECITAL 2007-08
TAMARA WILSON CULLEN LIVE RECITAL 2020-21 (Digital)
MICHELLE BRADLEY CULLEN LIVE RECITAL 2020-21 (Digital)