McVicar, Sir David

(Glasgow, Scotland)

David McVicar made his San Francisco Opera debut directing Don Giovanni in 2007, followed by Il Trovatore in 2009, Les Troyens and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2015, and Andrea Chénier in 2016. Career highlights include Tosca, Norma, and Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci at the Metropolitan Opera; Macbeth at the Kirov (Mariinsky) Opera, Washington National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Salome at Covent Garden; Il Trovatore at the Met and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Billy Budd and Giulio Cesare at Lyric Opera of Chicago; L’Incoronazione di Poppea and Semele at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; Alcina and Manon with Houston Grand Opera, the Dallas Opera, and English National Opera; and Agrippina at English National Opera, Frankfurt Opera, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées.

His work has been seen frequently at Royal Opera, Covent Garden, where his credits include televised productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Faust, Die Zauberflöte, and Rigoletto. Other productions include La Bohème, Carmen, Giulio Cesare for the Glyndebourne Festival; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Les Contes d’Hoffmann for the Salzburg Festival; Der Rosenkavalier, Don Giovanni, Sweeney Todd, Hamlet, and Il Re Pastore for Opera North (U.K.); Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, The Rape of Lucretia for English National Opera; The Turn of the Screw for the Mariinsky Theatre and English National Opera; and Tamerlano for Deutsche Oper Berlin. McVicar received the South Bank Show Award for his production of Giulio Cesare at the Glyndebourne Festival, and his productions have been nominated for numerous Laurence Olivier Awards. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.