François Racine
Director
Canadian director François Racine is firmly established as one of the most visionary leaders on today’s opera scene, engaged by companies throughout North America and beyond. François Racine has a long association with Pacific Opera Victoria (Carmen, Madama Butterfly, La bohème) as well as the Canadian Opera Company (Un Ballo in Maschera, Carmen, Norma), and L’Opéra de Montréal (Rigoletto, Macbeth, Aida). In recent seasons, François has directed La bohème at Edmonton Opera, Faust for Vancouver Opera, Nabucco at Seattle Opera, and Rigoletto for L’Opéra de Québec. Named “Best Artist of 2008-09” by Seattle Opera for his directing of Bluebeard’s Castle/Erwartung, Mr. Racine received accolades for his innovative interpretation of Dido and Aeneas in Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland.
This season, Mr. Racine stages the Opera Gala and Die Fledermaus at Université de Montréal and is writing a new show for young audiences with Jeunessess Musicales, exploring the concept of love and friendship. He returns to Opéra de Québec in 2023 to direct Madama Butterfly.
During the pandemic, François directed OperaBreaks, a series of videos filmed in unexpected locations by Coffeeshop Film and Creative, produced by Domoney Artists.
While a member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, Mr. Racine assisted Robert LePage on his productions of Erwartung and Bluebeard’s Castle, and later supervised and restaged performances at Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Melbourne Festivals and also in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Cincinnati, Montreal, Quebec and Seattle.
In collaboration with Kent Nagano and L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Mr. Racine staged concert versions of Tannhauser, Norma, La Sonnambula and Saint-Francois d’Assise (Messiaen) and with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and Orchestre Metropolitain at Orford Art Centre, he staged La Clemenza di Tito.
François works frequently with young artists, and is a guest professor at Université de Montréal, where he recently directed La Tragedie de Carmen. In 2005 he was awarded the Prix Opus for Evenement de l’annee for his production of Somers’ Louis Riel at McGill University, where he also directed L’Elisir d’amore and Rinaldo. Mr. Racine staged La Tragédie de Carmen and Così fan tutte at Richard Margison’s Highlands Opera Studio in Haliburton, Ontario.