Stage Director, Costume and Set Designer

HUGO DE ANA

Stage Director, Costume and Set Designer

Acclaimed for his spectacular sets as well as for his special lighting designHugo de Ana is a regular guest at some of the world’s most prestigious opera houses.

His career started as Technical Director and Executive Producer at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, staging operas such as Turandot, Werther, Don Carlo, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Medea and The Rake’s Progress. Then he moved to Santiago de Chile where he staged Roméo et Juliette, Lucrezia Borgia, Don Carlo andLes contes d'Hoffmann receiving for three consecutive years the critics' price as Best Director. Soon he started his collaboration with Teatro de la Zarzuela, in Madrid and the Liceu Opera Theatre in Barcelona where he signed works such as Armida, Andrea Chénier, Die Walküre, La Bohème, Ermione, and Otello. He made his Italian debut in 1990 staging Mosè in Egitto in Bologna. Since then he has collaborated with the most important Italian theatres: Teatro La Scala in Milan (Lucrezia Borgia, Samson et Dalila, La forza del destino and Il Trovatore), Teatro Regio in Turin (Manon Lescaut), Teatro San Carlo in Naples (Mosè in Egitto), Teatro dell’Opera in Rome (Ermione, Werther, Respighi’s Marie Victoire, La Fiamma, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Mascagni’s Iris), the Arena di Verona (Nabucco, Les contes d’Hoffman), Rossini Opera Festival (Semiramide), Teatro la Fenice in Venice (Carmen), as well as the theatres of Genoa, Catania and Parma.

He staged La Sonnambula at Santander’s International Festival during the summer 2007.

He also worked with the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Don Carlo), Covent Garden in London (Lucrezia Borgia, Don Carlo), the Seville Opera House (Aida) and the Tel Aviv Opera House (Tosca). He also signed, amongst others, productions as: Le Cid in Seville and Washington, Simon Boccanegra in Parma, Turandot, L´elisir d´amore and Norma in Tokyo.

Hugo de Ana has recently directed Gounod’s Faust at the Teatro Regio in Parma, completing the Faust opera cycle also including Berlioz's La damnation de Faust and Schumann's Szenen aus Goethes Faust.

During 2008 and 2009, he created a number of new productions: La Favorita in Chile, Medea in Turin, Aida in Padoa, LaTraviata in Maribor, Lehár's La Vedova Allegra in Padoa. He had great success directing Senso for the opening night season 2011 at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo.

In 2012 herealizedMussorgsky’sBorisGodunovattheTeatroMassimoofPalermo, Verdi’sLaForza del Destino at theTeatroColón inBuenosAires and Puccini’sToscaat theTheatreofHerodesAtticusin Athens.

In 2013he stagedVerdi's Don Carloat the TeatroRegio inTurinandWagner’sRienziat the Teatrodell'Opera in Rome.

Born in Buenos Aires, Hugo de Ana graduated at Ernesto de la Corcova Arts School as a professor in visual arts and custom design for TV and cinema. Soon after graduation, he lectured at the Universidad de la Plata. In 1997, he was awarded the Abbiati Prize, for his stage direction of Iris, Turandot and Les contes d’Hoffman. In 2001 his Stage Direction of Don Carlo at the Teatro Real in Madrid won Best Stage Direction, Scenography and Costume Design. In 2002 he won the Opera Award for La forza del destino and two years later for Gounod’s Faust.

He debuted at the Teatro Filarmonico in 1995 realizing Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmanand returned in 2004 for Bellini’s Norma; in 2007he directs Bellini’sLa Sonnambulaand Berlioz’sLa Damnation de Faustat the Teatro Regio di Parma in coproduction with the Fondazione Arena di Verona.

In the Arena di Verona he debuted in 2000 to the approval of public and critics for the direction, sets and costumes of Verdi’s Nabucco, revived in 2001; he stages Puccini’sToscain 2006, again presented in 2008, 2009 and 2012 and Rossini’sIlBarbiere di Siviglia in 2007, revived in 2009 and 2011.

In 2011 he inaugurates the Festival with great success with a new production of Traviata, presented again during the Centennial Festival in 2013.

He returns for the 2015 Opera Festival with hisToscaand IlBarbiere di Sivigliastagings.